MONTICELLO, NY — On June 15, 1878, photographer Eadweard Muybridge astounded the world with a series of high-speed stop-action shots that proved, once and for all, that at certain points in their stride, horses had all four hooves in the air.

Fast forward a few decades. At the Mighty M, if you paused a moment, you could see the Standardbreds seemingly suspended in both time and space, as they appeared to fly over the legendary cinder track at the Monticello Raceway on June 5.

A highlight of the eight-races card occurred between the second and third outings, when the track honored Jim Taggart Jr. for his 6,000th career win in the world of harness racing. Taggart posted #6,000 on Friday, May 31 at Tioga Downs in Hightstown, NJ, placing Prairie Magical into the winner’s circle in the fourth race of the day.

Adding to his long list of credits, the driver of few words but many accomplishments has been the leading driver at Monticello three times in the last five years, posted a driving title at Pocono Downs and finished second twice at Tioga.

According to a press release issued by the raceway, Shawn Wiles, director of racing and facilities, said that Taggart was “welcomed in the winner’s circle by many friends, family and fellow horsemen.”

“The 54-year-old reinsman has been a mainstay [at Monticello Raceway] for almost his entire career. He was the leading dash-winning driver in 2022 and 2023, with a respectable current Universal Driver Rating System (UDRS) of .275.”

Continuing, “No stranger to the winner’s circle, Taggart has been the leading driver at Monticello and Pocono Downs… he and Gary Messenger teamed up years ago and have forged a successful trainer-driver relationship.”

Taggart is rapidly closing in on earning $30 million in total career purses, as he is just shy of $10,000 from this milestone.

During the brief awards ceremony, many in Taggart’s inner circle sported Taggart Racing apparel as he was presented with a large red pennant that read “JIM TAGGART JR 6000 WINS.”

In an article penned by Ken Weingartner and published in Harness Link, Taggart commented on his 6,000th victory. “It’s a nice number… I just keep at it, working hard every day. I’ve been lucky to keep at it, doing what I like.”

For more photos, visit www.riverreporter.com/sports.

Since picking up a camera and pen as a freelance photojournalist, Ted Waddell has received 21 awards from the New York Press Association. His most recent recognition was the Phil Pines Award from the Monticello-Goshen Chapter of the United States Harness Writer’s Association in 2022. Waddell is a member of the International Freelancer Photographers Organization.