Junior Coffey

WASHINGTON RACING HALL OF FAME
ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2024

AUBURN, Wash. (Feb. 28, 2024) – Jockey Basil Frazier, Grade 1 winning mare Flag de Lune, and racing writer/broadcaster Jon White compose a stellar field of 2024 Washington Racing Hall of Fame inductees Emerald Downs announced Tuesday.

The official induction ceremony takes place at Emerald Downs on Saturday, August 10, the eve of the 89th renewal of the $150,000 Longacres Mile for 3-year-olds and up. In addition to the above three, longtime trainer and former NFL and University of Washington running back Junior Coffey was announced as winner of the Lifetime Achievement award for 2024.

Basil Frazier

A native of Spokane, Wash., Basil Frazier rode in Canada and the United States, retiring in 1985 with 2,218 career victories. “The Baz” was equally at home while riding the five-eighths bullring at Exhibition Park, winning four riding titles at the Vancouver track and 449 races and 29 stakes at Longacres, the latter total placing him in a 10th place tie with Washington Hall of Fame jockey Joe Baze. Frazier’s crowning moment was a dramatic victory aboard Times Rush in the 1974 Longacres Mile.

Washington’s Horse of the Year in 1984, Flag de Lune was a multiple stakes winner on dirt, including the inaugural running of the Longacres Lassies Stakes, and a Grade 1 winner on turf, capturing the 1984 Ramona Handicap at Del Mar by 2 ½ lengths over Eclipse Award-winning Royal Heroine. A Washington-bred by Flag Officer out of Bal de Lune, Flag de Lune was a $10,000 yearling bought by Wendell McMinimy, Richard McMurtrie, and Duane Weber.

Jon White

Another native of Spokane, Jon White has been a local and national force in racing media for over five decades, currently ranking among the top historians in the sport. Beginning with Daily Racing Form as chart-caller at age 19, White has been a publicist, television host, morning line maker and steward, his byline appearing in The BloodHorse, Los Angeles Times, Thoroughbred Record, Canadian Horse, The Washington Thoroughbred, among others. White currently writes a weekly column for Xpressbet.com, appears weekly on Steve Byk’s national racing show, and produces morning lines for Santa Anita and Del Mar including morning lines at eight Breeders’ Cups.

White has received numerous industry awards, including 2003 Mark Kaufman Media Award for racing and breeding coverage in Washington, 2019 Joe Hirsch Memorial Award for a story on Justify’s run to the 2018 Triple Crown, and a 2013 piece titled “Turbulator: Washington’s favorite son,” received honorable mention by American Horse Publications. In 1979, at age 24, White became among the youngest stewards in American racing history when he took the judge’s stand at Yakima Meadows.

“What a tremendous honor it is for this Washington-bred to go into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame,” White said. “I consider it to be the pinnacle of my career in racing. I just wish that my father [Quentin White] was still alive to see this. As a lifelong racing fan, he’d be over the moon.”

Born March 21, 1942, in Kyle, Texas, Junior Coffey is among the most popular and renowned sporting figures in Seattle history. A three-time All-Coast selection and three-time Honorable Mention All-American at Washington, Coffey played professionally with the NFLs Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, and New York Giants, including a rookie stint on the Packers’ 1965 championship squad coached by the famed Vince Lombardi. After a knee-injury curtailed his football career, Coffey turned to the world of horse racing as a Thoroughbred trainer in the mid-1970s at Longacres, eventually becoming one of the state’s most respected trainers. At Emerald Downs, Coffey ranks No. 5 in all-time win percentage at 20.13 percent.

Washington Racing Hall of Fame

Class of 2024: Jockey-Basil Frazier; Horse (F&M)-Flag de Lune; Media-Jon White; Lifetime Achievement-Junior Coffey
Class of 2023: Trainer-Frank Lucarelli; Horse-Atta Boy Roy, Stryker Phd; Breeder-Bar C Racing; Owner-George and Norma Sedlock
Class of 2021: Lifetime Achievement-Joe Withee
Class of 2019: Trainer-Ruth Parton; Horse-Snow Plow; Breeder-Griffin Place; Lifetime Achievement, Aaron T. Van De Vanter
Class of 2018: Jockey-Juan Gutierrez; Trainer-Doris Harwood; Horse-Mustard Plaster; Breeder-Penney Family; Lifetime Achievement-Dr. George Todaro
Class of 2017: Trainer-Marion L. Smith; Horse-Noosa Beach; Breeder-Rick and Debbie Pabst; Lifetime Achievement-Dr. Mark Dedomenico
Class of 2016: Jockey-Jack Leonard; Trainer-Larry and Sharon Ross; Horse (F&M)-Flamme; Horse-Loto Canada; Breeder-Robert L. Edwards
Class of 2015: Jockey-Gary Boulanger; Trainer-Wesley Ward; Horse (F&M)-Ropersandwranglers; Horse-Travel Orb; Breeder-Herman Sarkowsky; Lifetime Achievement-Robert Geller
Class of 2014: Jockey-Ricky Frazier; Trainer-Ben Harris; Horse (F&M)-Delicate Vine; Horse-Chum Salmon; Breeder-Gunshy Manor
Class of 2013: Jockey-Gallyn Mitchell; Trainer-Howard Belvoir; Horse (F&M)-Table Hands; Horse-Military Hawk; Breeder-Czechmate Farm; Lifetime Achievement-Ralph Vacca
Class of 2012: Jockey-Paul Frey; Trainer-Wayne Branch; Horse (F&M)-Rings a Chime; Horse-Hilco Scamper; Breeder-George Newell; Lifetime Achievement-Jack Hodge
Class of 2011: Jockey-Vicky Baze; Trainer-Tim McCanna; Horse (F&M)-Firesweeper; Horse-Pataha Prince; Breeder-Grousemont Farm; Lifetime Achievement-Karen & Mickey Taylor
Class of 2010: Jockey-Joe Baze; Trainer-Bill McMeans; Horse-Biggs; Breeder-Les Turner; Lifetime Achievement-James Seabeck
Class of 2009: Jockey-Lennie Knowles; Trainer-Kathy Walsh; Horse-Sparrow Castle; Breeder-Wilbur & Marianne Stadelman
Class of 2008: Jockey-Larry Pierce; Trainer-Glen Williams; Horse-Belle of Rainier; Breeder-Frank Brewster; Lifetime Achievement-Pete Pedersen
Class of 2007: Jockey-Johnny Adams; Trainer-Red McDaniel; Horse-Peterhof’s Patea; Breeder-Dan Agnew
Class of 2006: Jockey-Albert Johnson; Trainer-Frances Keller; Horse-Sir William; Breeder-C. J. Sebastian
Class of 2005: Jockey-Basil James; Trainer-Bud Klokstad; Horse-Smogy Dew; Breeder-Guy & Barbara Roberts
Class of 2004: Jockey-Russell Baze; Trainer-Charles Whittingham; Horse-Saratoga Passage, Turbulator; Breeder-George Drumheller; Lifetime Achievement-Ron Crockett
Class of 2003: Jockey-Gary Baze, Ralph Neves, Gary Stevens; Trainer-Allen Drumheller, Jim Penney, Tom Smith; Horse-Captain Condo, Chinook Pass, Trooper Seven; Breeder-Herb Armstrong, Jerre Paxton; Lifetime Achievement-Joe Gottstein