Erwin F. Dygert

Who was Erwin F. Dygert?

Erwin F. Dygert was an importer of horses into the United States. He brought the last Belgian horses out of Europe before World War II prevented any more exports.

He was also involved in harness racing, first at Aurora Downs in Aurora, Illinois, then at Hawthorne Race Course. The Erwin F. Dygert Memorial Trot, run at Hawthorne, is named after him. In 1954, Dygert founded and was the sole proprietor of Suburban Downs, Inc., a harness racing association that began operations at Maywood Park under a lease agreement.

Erwin Dygert married and had three children: Mary, Erwin William "Bill", Marjorie, and Gloria. His first wife died and he later remarried Beulah Dygert of Danville, Illinois. She continued to work at the Hawthorne Race Course until her late eighties.

His family owns Dygert Farm on Elk St. in Springville, New York, home to the Erie County Fair, and where Pop Warner trained Jim Thorpe for the 1912 Olympics.