SALEM, Ohio – An Ohio harness driver died March 20 following a crash at The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, in Washington, County, Pennsylvania.
Hunter Myers, 27, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was thrown from the sulky during a race March 19, causing a chain reaction spill that involved four other horses and drivers, who escaped with minor injuries.
He was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital in critical condition where he later died of his injuries.
Myers, a native of Williamsport, Ohio, left behind his fiancee, Chloe Fisher, and a young son. A GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $17,000 for his son’s future.
The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association described Myers as a “rising star,” in a statement. The Meadows canceled racing for the remainder of the week and offered grief support services to its racing community.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association is holding a memorial moment of silence to honor Myers at 5:50 p.m. March 23 at MGM Northfield Park, in Northfield, Ohio, prior to the first race at 6 p.m.
Northfield Park’s upcoming non-winners of one series, formally known as the Iron Maiden Series, will now be re-named the Hunter Myers Memorial Series, according to the OHHA.
“Hunter was a young star and was taken too early from us,” the OHHA said in a statement.
Background
Myers, the son of trainer Michael Myers, grew up working with horses and started racing in 2014 when he was 16. That year he won 19 of 110 races at 29 tracks as he sought to establish himself on the Ohio fairs circuit, according to the U.S. Trotting Association.
Myers got his first win at the Jackson County Fair on a horse his father trained. For his efforts that first year, he received the Peter Haughton Memorial Award from the Ohio chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers Association, given to “the young Ohioan who is an up-and-coming star among harness horsemen.”
He split his time between tracks in Ohio and Pennsylvania and won 2,450 races racking up more than $21.7 million in earnings during his career.
“The statistics and his obvious talent, however, do not begin to tell the whole story,” the USTA said in a statement. “He was a beloved son to his parents. A doting father to his toddler son. An adored partner to his fiancée. And a loyal, funny, generous friend to the legions in American harness racing who knew him.
“Hunter Myers was an integral, remarkable part of the fabric of the sport and he died doing what he loved. Now those who loved him — and there are many — are left to contemplate an unexpected and indescribable loss,” the USTA said.
The accident was the first death at the track in the 62 years of racing at The Meadows, according to the Observer-Reporter.
