SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It's a safe bet that when Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs carried a blue ballcap to the stage for the Hall of Fame induction of her late husband, trainer John Shirreffs, Friday many of the people in the audience could see what was coming.To punctuate her acceptance speech, Ingordo-Shirreffs flung the cap into the crowd, repeating Shirreffs' spontaneous celebration after his Hall of Fame filly Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) completed a thrilling last-to-first move to win the 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park.Shirreffs, who died unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of 80 in February, was part of the 11-member Class of 2026 that was formally welcomed into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion. Shirreffs, the late trainer Christophe Clement and the champion sprinter Kona Gold (Java Gold) were elected by the voters in the Contemporary Category. The museum's Historic Review Committee selected trainer David A. Whiteley and the horses Gulch (Mr. Prospector) and Mongo (Royal Charger) to be honored. Five men–veterinarian Dr. Robert W. Copelan; breeder-owners Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, Joseph E. Widener, and G. Watts Humphrey, Jr.; and Seth W. Hancock, also an owner-breeder, who managed his family's Claiborne Farm for more than 40 years–were inducted in the Pillars of the Turf category.Raising the hat in her right hand, Ingordo-Shirreffs said, “I am going to try to replicate what John did at that moment in his life after she won the Classic.” Ingordo-Shirreffs said her husband said, “I didn't know what to do. I was so excited. I just wanted to rip my shirt off, and I never could do that in public. So what did I do?”The Classic toss by the usually composed Shirreffs, who always had a hat on his head, was shown in the video introduction.“John, this is for you. I hope I do it justice,” Ingordo-Shirreffs said. “Congratulations, Hall of Fame Class 2026, John and his fellow inductees. You did it. Now, there it goes.”Shirreffs worked around horses on farms and at tracks and did some part-time training in Southern California before becoming a full-time trainer in 1994 at the age of 49. He was a private trainer for 505 Farm from 1994 until 2000 and operated a small high-quality public stable until his death. His 596 victories included 113 graded stakes. His win percentage in graded stakes was a remarkable 18.95. Shirreffs won the 2005 GI Kentucky Derby with 50-1 longshot Giacamo (Holy Bull), owned by Jerry and Ann Moss. His biggest horse, also owned by the Mosses, was popular champion Zenyatta, who was unbeaten through 19 races, but finished second by a head to Blame (Arch) in her career finale in the 2010 Classic.Valerie Clement | Mike KaneClement won 2,576 races, including 286 graded stakes, in a career that spanned 1991 to 2025. His most successful runner was three-time champion Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat). He was especially adept with turf runners, but saddled very good dirt runners, too, topped by Tonalist (Tapit), winner of the 2014 GI Belmont Stakes. Clement, a native of Paris, was raised in a racing family in France and moved to the U.S. and launched his small stable at the age of 25. He died from a rare form of cancer at the age of 59 in May 2025.Clement's widow, Valerie, and their children, Miguel and Charlotte, represented him at the ceremony.“Thank you, Christophe. What a beautiful ride,” Valerie Clement said. “His immediate thoughts would certainly go to his mentors, the special people who shaped him, challenged him, and believed in him way before the racing world knew his name: Alec and Ghislaine Head in France, Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey in the United States and Luca Cumani in England, whose knowledge and guidance gave him the courage to chase his dream in a new continent.”Valerie Clement said that when she and her husband arrived in 1991 with an infant and a half-dozen horses that had previously run in Europe, they were welcomed in the U.S.“In 2025, when it was time for Christophe to leave us, he gave me five names of special people to trust if we were going to need some guidance,” she said. “It's never easy to leave your family behind far too early, and I didn't think much of it at first. But I look back and realize the five names he gave us were five American people. What a testimony to a beautiful immigration story.”Clement's life went well beyond his success on the track, she said, and explained the backing he received after he was diagnosed with an eye cancer in 2023.“Victories are the measure of success in our sport, no doubt,” she said. “May I please invite you to look further, apart from the horses, of course. What is uniquely beautiful is a racing community. Endlessly, immensely, and forever grateful for the immense support we received from so many of you here during a cruel time.”Clement was bold and was able to realize his ambition to train in the U.S. Valerie Clement encouraged people to do what her husband did and follow their dreams.“Christophe left us far too young,” she said, “but he asked us to enjoy life every single day.”Peter Brant and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's Cate Masterson | Mike KanePeter Brant bred and raced Gulch, who compiled a record of 13-8-3 from 32 career starts from 1986 through 1988 ad earned $3,095,521. He won 11 graded stakes for his Hall of Fame trainers LeRoy Jolley and D. Wayne Lukas.Among the many high points of Gulch's career were back-to-back victories at ages three and four in the GI Metropolitan Handicap. He completed his career with a victory in the 1988 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, a victory that carried him to an Eclipse Award.“Brant said that Gulch was “a great teacher for me of what you could expect in a great racehorse, taking you through so many great events and exciting wins and exciting defeats.“Truly a great horse. He ran 32 times, as old as he lived, and he was just so special. He was not a horse that you ever would think needed time. He just was there at the beginning, and he was there at the end. And everybody around him from the beginning were the right people.”Kona Gold, trained by co-owner Bruce Headley, was fast and durable. From 1998 through 2003, the gelding compiled a 14-7-2 record from 30 starts. Ten of those wins were in graded stakes. He was ridden to all 14 of his victories by Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis, who attended the ceremony. Kona Gold competed in five consecutive runnings of the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. He won the 2000 edition at Churchill Downs, setting a six-furlong track record of 1:07.77, a performance that helped him to an Eclipse Award.Copelan, whose 100th birthday is on Sept. 2, was unable to travel to Saratoga Springs for the ceremony, but participated through a video. He scrapped plans to follow his father into journalism and with considerable experience around horses, became a vet. He was a pioneer in the field of equine surgery and was one of the 11 founding members of the American Association of Equine Practitioners.“All these years, I've loved a horse,” he said. “Horses and all the many people associated with them bring me here today to thank the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame for the honor of being named a Pillar of the Turf. I'm humbled to be invited to join this illustrious group, and I appreciate greatly this extraordinary recognition.”Seth Hancock | Mike KaneIn 1972, Hancock took over Claiborne at the age of 23, following the death of his father Arthur B. “Bull” Hancock, who had succeeded his father, Arthur B. Hancock, in 1940. Very quickly, Hancock proved that he was up to the task. One of his first moves was to purchase Juggler from his father's dispersal. Two years later, Juggler won the Florida Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes. A year after taking over Claiborne, Hancock was instrumental in syndicating Secretariat for $6 million.Hancock was the final inductee in the 2 1/2-hour program and started with a self-effacing line.“Well, they sure didn't save the best for last, did they,” he said. “I want to start out by thanking the committee for including me in this year's list of inductees into the Hall of Fame. It's a terrific honor.”Earlier in the ceremony, another speaker served up the famous Satchel Paige quote about not looking back because something might be gaining on you. Hancock noted that he was taking the opposite approach and reflected on his history in the sport. Without notes and occasionally showing some emotion, he talked for nine minutes about many owners, trainers, jockeys and other important people. Just once, and he acknowledged it, Hancock forgot a name he had intended to use. It was a very impressive speech.“This game's been good to me, obviously,” he said. “It's been my life. I really don't know what else to say. I just I'm honored. I'm blessed. We all are to be in this business. It's a special business.”The post ‘John, This is for You’: 2026 Hall of Fame Class Inducted appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.