In May 1976 over 500 people were set to make history. They were the participants in the Great American Horse Race, 91 riders and over 450 people to support them during the longest horse race in history - 3,000 miles from Frankfort, New York to Sacramento, California. The race would take 100 days, starting on Memorial Day, May 31st, and finishing on Labor day, September 6th, and take the riders across the whole of the United States.

But the most remarkable thing about this race was not the sheer magnitude. It was the people competing in it. Their spirit and determination kept the race alive when, only one week into the race, it looked as if lack of sufficient funds could end the race right there and then. Although race founder Randy Scheiding put the purse in Escrow in Sacramento, there was no guarantee that the race would ever get that far. Nonetheless the riders decided to continue, despite the fact that many officials were leaving the race and its future was uncertain to say the least.

Already dubbed "The 76'ers", after the pioneers that came 200 years before, the men and women who participated in this race truly lived up to this title. Without their resourcefulness and determination, history would have been robbed of one of its most important events in the field of equestrian sports. They are heroes, every single one of them.

This web site is dedicated to keep the memory of them and their achievement alive…

If you would like to read more about this remarkable race, please visit the web site of Curtis L. Lewis and Dennis D. Underwood, the journalist and photographer who accompanied the riders from start to finish. Their book, "The Great American Horse Race of 1976" is a wonderfully vivid documentation of this event.