News and Events

USHWA Awards Announced

HARRISBURG PA, Wednesday, November 1 --- The U.S. Harness Writers Association has announced that George Foreman, former boxing champion now smitten with harness racing, has won the W.R. Haughton Memorial Good Guy Award, while Mary Lou Dondarski, a tireless worker in the offices of the Breeders Crown / Hambletonian Society and a skilled craftswoman of harness racing memorabilia, has won the LeeAnne Pooler Memorial Unsung Hero Award

Foreman, 57, is of course well-known as an Olympic and professional boxing champion, and for his George Foreman grills and motivational speaking engagements. But Foreman also loves harness racing - surfing the TV satellites one night, Foreman, a longtime horse enthusiast, saw harness racing and decided to get into the game.

Foreman teamed up with top trainer George Teague Jr. and now has 18 horses, including the $230,000+-winning Future Destiny. The former athlete's empathy for the human and equine athletes of harness racing, and the enthusiasm he has shown for the sport, has served harness racing well on many occasions, including as the presenter of this year's Hambletonian trophy.

It is with the mundane, workday happenings of the Hambletonian Society and Breeders Crown where Mary Lou Dondarski shines, keeping operations moving and on-track as the Office Manager. Dondarski, who has a long history of working with horses and tracks, also is an accomplished artisan, with her craft adorning many a wall or desk in harness racing offices, and often receiving a featured spot in the sport's charity auctions, to which she gives generously.

USHWA also has announced the four finalists for this year's Proximity Award, the highest honor in the sport behind induction into the Hall of Fame. Normally three finalists, selected by USHWA directors, are then put before the general membership of USHWA for voting, but this year a tie for third dictated four names on the final ballot.

The Proximity finalists are: Jeff Gural, who resurrected Tioga Downs and revitalized Vernon Downs into two central New York harness ovals now brimming with the promise of additional revenues via slots; the Horseman And Fair World magazine, a venerable yet vital harness racing weekly magazine devoured by devotees of the sport; Chris McErlean, a "youthful veteran" of the sport who has, through his insight and communication skills, risen to the rank of Vice President of Racing Operations at The Meadowlands, the sport's premier track; and Paul E. Spears, a dynamic board member for Hanover Shoe Farms, the Standardbred Horse Sales Company, the Standardbred Breeders Association of Pennsylvania, and countless other harness organizations who have benefited from his leadership.

Foreman, Dondarski, and the Proximity winner will be honored at USHWA's annual awards banquet, to be held February 25 at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Tickets for the banquet, priced at $100, are available from Scott Warren, 302 222 1222 or 302 398 7595; information on hotel reservations and ads in the Banquet Journal will be forthcoming shortly.