Sanders Russell was born April 26, 1900, in Stevenson, Alabama. He graduated from Jackson County High School and played baseball and tennis at Auburn. Sanders began harness racing while still in school and won his first race in 1915. The U.S. Trotting Association's official records credit him with 1,116 first places, 531 seconds and 503 thirds. He won more than 20 major stakes with world records in 1946 and ‘55. His total winnings were over $2,000,000. In 1962, at age 62 and recovering from a broken leg, Sanders won the famed Hambletonian on A.C.'s Viking. Mr. Russell is deceased.