A very sad day in the sports world: harness driver—Hunter Myers (whom I bet on often)—killed after six-horse pile-up at “the meadows”

Hunter Myers

By Grand Rapids Anonymous
thursday, march 20, 2025 at 3:23:00 p.m. edt

A very sad day in the sports world: harness driver—Hunter Myers (whom I bet on often)—killed after six-horse pile-up at “the meadows”

“(cbs noise) a driver died after a serious accident (GRA: of course, it was serious) during a horse race at the hollywood casino at the meadows in Washington county.

“twenty-seven-year-old Hunter Myers died thursday morning ‘after a tragic racing accident’ on wednesday afternoon, the casino and meadows standardbred owners association said in a statement.

“Hunter was a rising star in our industry. the meadows racing community, and the entire harness racing industry, are deeply saddened by this tragic event,’ the association said.

“Myers was driving in the race on wednesday when an accident involving six horses took place, according to longtime track announcer Roger Huston. Huston says that Myers was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital by medical helicopter following the accident.

“a video profiling Myers shared on social media earlier this year referred to him as ‘one of the top harness racing drivers at hollywood casino at the meadows.

“tributes to Hunter Myers pour in
“several organizations, like the harness racing museum & hall of fame, expressed their condolences on social media.

“pacing for the cure, a nonprofit that helps people with diseases like multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s, said there are ‘no words’ for the loss of Myers.

“to know Hunter was to love him. we send prayers to his family at this time. we will forever be proud to have had him on our pftc team. it was a contribution to the great person he was,’ pacing for the cure said.

“the ohio harness horsemen’s association called Myers ‘a young star’ who ‘was taken too early from us.

“Myers leaves behind a fiancée and son.

“the meadows standardbred owners association says racing has been canceled for the rest of the week.”

GRA: I’ve followed harness racing since 1989 and bet a lot of races at Meadows, and this was a shocker to me. I had money on this particular race, but didn’t watch it live. When I got home, I saw the last two races had been cancelled. I just thought it was weather-related, but this morning, after googling why today’s card was also cancelled, I came upon the sad news of this accident. Horse wrecks are very rare in harness racing, and even more rarely cause loss of life.

The horse in front of Hunter Myers’ horse broke stride, causing Myers’ 74-1 longshot, Always B Royal to tip back, which threw Myers on the track—on his head. It was quickly diagnosed as a severe brain injury, and Mr. Myers was transported to a Pittsburgh hospital, where he passed overnight.

The kid (I’ll call him that compared to other harness drivers’ ages) came on the scene about five years ago, and immediately showed a knack for bringing big paying longshots in. The talent was there, and Mr. Myers’ success increased every year.

I read an article about him last year, and I remember the “kid” saying “I love driving horses,” sometimes at two tracks in one day.

A very sad day in the sports world.

--GRA


By Grand Rapids Anonymous
thursday, march 20, 2025 at 3:45:00 p.m. edt

To correct a minor point. According to various websites, “Mr. Myers started driving 11 years ago,” but came to my attention about five years ago, as he started driving at The Meadows and then Northfield.

-GRA