The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will be holding a raffle for an original Larry Dodd Wheeler painting of a Saratoga Race Course scene. Raffle tickets are $20 each and are available for purchase in person only at the Museum (cash only) between July 1 and Nov. 30. The drawing will be held on Friday, Dec. 1 at the Museum. The winner does not need to be present. The painting is valued at $5,000 and all proceeds will benefit the Museum.

Wheeler, who lives in Washington, Ga., an hour from the equine haven of Aiken, S.C., and its hunt country, breeding farms and training facilities, paints horses and the people who breed, train, race, show and ride them — and their environments — with candor and honesty that stems from his lifelong love of painting the human figure. He has been active in the world of equine art for more than 40 years.

“When I first saw this painting by Mr. Wheeler, I was so impressed with its beauty and how it perfectly captures the aura of the Saratoga barn area,” said Cathy Marino, director of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. “The Museum is most grateful to Mr. Wheeler for this generous donation.”

Painting has been a part of Wheeler’s life since childhood and he has never had another occupation other than brief forays into affiliated fields all while continuing to paint. He worked for several years as a painting conservator at the Corcoran Gallery and at the Smithsonian Institution after he received his MFA from the Hoffberger School of Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Wheeler has taught painting in many venues, including college classrooms and workshops throughout his career in the arts. He spends at least part of August each year in Saratoga Springs during racing season.

Some of Wheeler’s work can be found on display in the Maryland State House, the United States Supreme Court, Johns Hopkins University and the Keeneland Association, among other venues. Mr. Wheeler has exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. He has long been represented by the Cross Gate Gallery in Lexington, Ky.