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2012 PROPOSED BY-LAW CHANGES can be download by clicking here.
PRESIDENT JASON'S FINAL ADDRESS- Wow -- can you believe it’s already February! The winter has been relatively mild up here in the Northeast, and I look forward to a “magical time” in Orlando, Florida. I hope everyone has made their plans for the Dan Patch Awards banquet this coming Sunday, February 12th. I would like to thank the USTA, RCN, Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs for sponsoring the live video streaming of the night’s festivities for those that cannot join us.
I would also like to send out a huge thank you to all the members of USHWA who have made my tenure as President a great experience. The last two years have been filled with ups and downs, but mainly ups, and I want everyone to know that we are moving in the right direction. USHWAn of the Year Leon Zimmerman and John Pawlak spearheaded the bylaw revision committee, which is ready for Florida, where I believe we will be making important strides that are beneficial to our organization. Gerry Connors, who has helped me a lot as the Secretary, informs me that our membership grew over the last year as well. Jessica Schroeder and he headed the New Membership committee and took important steps in designing a recruiting brochure and recruiting new members, which is the life blood of any organization. Thanks to Kim Rinker, who did an awesome job with the Journal again, and Steve Wolf -- I cannot even begin to put into words how hard he works as the dinner committee chairman. Thanks Steve! Thank you again to each and every one of you for hard work and dedication -- there are many of you and USHWA thanks you as well.
Thanks again, everyone, and I look forward to continuing to serve USHWA in any way possible.
Truly yours and be well,
Jason M. Settlemoir
President-USHWA
DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS POSTER BY CLICKING HERE.
THE HISTORY OF USHWA BOOK AVAILABLE- USHWA's Executive Secretary Bill Brown has authored a new book that covers the 65 year history of the organization. It is available for $5 a copy in person, or $6 a copy mailed. Please contact Bill Brown via e-mail at (wbrown43@rochester.rr.com) to inidcate your interest to buy a copy or copies, and Bill will make sure that the proper number of copies will be sent to Orlando.
AGENDAS FOR THE 2012 MEETINGS of the U.S. HARNESS WRITERS ASSOCIATION
Orlando FL – Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12, 2012
SATURDAY MEETING – DIRECTORS meeting – POST TIME 1:30pm
1. ROLLCALL of DIRECTORS (both Directors and non-Directors attending will sign a passed-around sheet)
2. JUDY DAVIS-WILSON on REIMBURSEMENT of DIRECTORS EXPENSES
3. RECAP of the 2011 FORT LAUDERDALE EXPERIENCE – Steve Wolf
4. REPORT of the INSURANCE COMMITTEE – Barry Lefkowitz
(necessary at this juncture because we will have to make By-Law adjustments if we are to accept the plan that Barry and his Committee are recommending)
5. BY-LAW (and R&R) CHANGE PROPOSALS
a. THOSE MADE BY THE BY-LAW REVISION COMMITTEE – Leon Zimmerman
b. THOSE MADE BY OTHER USHWA MEMBERS (integrated together)
6. VOTING for COMMUNICATORS HALL of FAME NOMINEES
7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS NEEDING DISCUSSING before SUNDAY MEETING
8. RECAP of SATURDAY NIGHT ACTIVITIES – Steve Wolf
9. ADJOURNMENT
SUNDAY MEETING – GENERAL MEMBERSHIP meeting – POST TIME 11 am
1. ROLLCALL (with sign-up sheet being passed around)
2. VOTE to ACCEPT 2011 MINUTES (with/without CORRECTIONS)
3. (DEFERRAL of?) READING of 2011 CORRESPONDENCE
4. REPORTS of NATIONAL OFFICERS
5. REPORTS of COMMITTEES
a. HALL of FAME SCREENING COMMITTEE – Jerry Connors
b. DINNER COMMITTEE 2012 (– 2013 – 2014) – Steve Wolf
c. JOURNAL COMMITTEE – Kim Rinker
d. INTEGRITY COMMITTEE – Moira Fanning
e. HERVEY ETC. COMMITTEE – Ken Weingartner
f. HIRT WORKSHOP COMMITTEE – Debbie Little
g. BROODMARE NOMINATION COMMITTEE – Randy Manges
h. E-COMMUNICATION COMMITTEE – Chris Tully
i. WEBSITE COMMITTEE – Tim Bojarski
j. USHWA AMATEUR DRIVER OF THE YEAR COMMITTEE – John Manzi
k. SECURING “DAN PATCH” NAME COMMITTEE – Barry Lefkowitz
l. NEW MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE – Jessica Schroeder
m. FAN AWARDS COMMITTEE – Tim Bojarski
n. WELFARE COMMITTEE – Alan Prince
(Insurance & Tax/Audit, and ByLaws Committees reported Saturday)
6. SUMMARY of SATURDAY BY-LAW CHANGE PROPOSALS and COMMUNICATIONS
CORNER NOMINEES VOTING
7. OLD BUSINESS
8. NEW BUSINESS
9. ELECTION of NATIONAL OFFICERS
10. ADJOURNMENT
(please bring this agenda with you to Florida!)
Here is the list of award winners announced to date:
2YO trotting colt – Possess The Will
2YO trotting filly – Check Me Out
2YO pacing colt – Sweet Lou
2YO pacing filly – Economy Terror
3YO trotting colt – Broad Bahn
3YO trotting filly – Cedar Dove
3YO pacing colt – Roll With Joe
3YO pacing filly – See You At Peelers
Older trotting horse – San Pail
Older trotting mare – Action-Broadway
Older pacing horse – Foiled Again
Older pacing mare – Anndrovette
Trotting Broodmare of the Year – Armbro Vanquish
Pacing Broodmare of the Year – Sweet Future
(Trotter, Pacer, and Horse of the Year to be announced at banquet, along with Breeder of the Year)
Living Hall of Fame – Jimmy Takter
Communicators Hall of Fame – Jean Emerson
Communicators Hall of Fame – Moira Fanning
Proximity Award – Roger Huston
Woolworth Owner of the Year – John Fielding
Garnsey Trainer of the Year – Ron Burke
USHWA and HTA Driver of the Year – George Brennan
Rising Star Award – Dan Noble
Barasch Breakthrough Award – Frank M. Antonacci
W.R. Haughton Good Guy Award – Larry Lederman
Pooler Unsung Hero Award – Dr. Karyn Malinowski
January Davies Humanitarian Award – Karin Olsson-Burgess
Prince USHWAn of the Year – Leon Zimmerman
President’s Awards – Jeff Gural, Tom Luchento, Leo McNamara
Amateur Driver of the Year – Kelly Walker
Railbird Award – Person – Jeff Gural
Railbird Award – Event – the Little Brown Jug (Big Bad John)
HHYF Service To Youth Award – Hanover Shoe Farm Foundation
NBC HAMBLETONIAN FEATURE RECEIVES BROADCASTING HONORS- NBC’s Hambletonian feature, titled “Pastor Stephen: Racing for Africa,” was selected the winner of the 28th edition of the award for excellence in harness racing broadcasting, the U.S. Harness Writers Association announced today. The feature was produced by David Cook.Honorable mention was awarded to “Training for Tomorrow,” which appeared on the Time Warner Cable, as part of “Inside Harness Racing.” It was produced by Justin Horowitz.
The contest was sponsored by harness racing executive Jeff Gural.
“Pastor Stephen: Racing for Africa” told the story of the Hambletonian hopeful Pastor Stephen and the man for which the horse was named, the Rev. Stephen Heinzel-Nelson. The Rev. Heinzel-Nelson and his wife, Liz, started Villages in Partnership, an organization to assist the people of Malawi.
The story aired during NBC’s Hambletonian broadcast on Aug. 6, 2011.
“Focusing on the life of two-time Hambletonian-winning trainer Jimmy Takter, this segment gave insight into not only the challenge of training Standardbreds at the highest level but also the family-oriented aspect of harness racing and enabled the viewer to see the way a racing family interacts with its local and area community,” judge Kurt Becker said.
“The added dimension of the human Pastor Stephen and his involvement with Villages In Partnership, and the horse’s connections’ pledge to donate a percentage of the equine Pastor Stephen’s winnings to helping better the lives of African villagers, also demonstrated the global impact of racing and the inspiration which a Hambletonian entrant brought to a community located a continent away.
“The combination of video segments from both the U.S. and Africa further enriched the production, while the sound bites incorporated from various interviews were poignant and well-chosen.”
The piece “Training for Tomorrow” told the story of high school students competing in a scholarship race at Tioga Downs. It aired June 15, 2011.
“With a clear theme, excellent narration, and a concise presentation, ‘Training for Tomorrow’ examined the annual Tioga Downs scholarship race and revealed how the New York-based track is taking steps to expand harness racing’s fan base among the younger set,” Becker said. “Focusing on Union-Endicott High School student Rebecca Conrad, the segment explored how trainers open their doors to help give pupils a three-week crash course on harness racing, with the race itself offering a total of $7,500 in scholarship money to the participating students.
“The presentation utilized the simplicity of the backstretch to illustrate the racetrack as a classroom, and it demonstrated the power in making harness racing more accessible to youth. The enthusiasm of the participating trainers, as shown through an interview with Jamie Paquet, also captures the untiring devotion of those who work in the sport, and it channels the message of harness racing as a true labor of love.
“It is difficult to imagine professional sports being made so immediately relevant and accessible to teenagers, but ‘Training for Tomorrow’ is a virtual instructional video on how it can be done.”
Judge Kurt Becker is the Keeneland track announcer and an Eclipse Award-winning broadcaster.
Cook will be honored at USHWA’s annual Dan Patch Awards dinner, to be held Feb. 12, at the DoubleTree Hilton at SeaWorld of Orlando.
For tickets to attend the banquet contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take out a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com.
Discounted room rates, available until Jan. 16, at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800.327.0363
KAPLAN, KEITH WIN HERVEY AWARDS- Darryl Kaplan, writing for Sportsnet magazine, and Melissa Keith, writing for Atlantic Post Calls, were named winners in the 50th annual John Hervey Awards for excellence in harness racing journalism, the U.S. Harness Writers Association announced today.
Kaplan was honored in the feature writing category for his piece titled “Win or Die Trying,” which was published in Sportsnet magazine on Oct. 31, 2011. Keith was recognized in the news/commentary category for her story titled “HPI: The Future of Live Racing?” in the March 18, 2011 edition of Atlantic Post Calls.
The contest was sponsored by harness racing executive Jeff Gural.
Kaplan’s feature told the story of veteran driver Roger Hamm’s brush with death on the racetrack and his eventual return to the winner’s circle.
“Roger Hamm’s quote said it all: ‘If they want me to stop racing, I’ll have to die on the track.’ Well, that’s almost what happened one night in Canada as he collapsed in the sulky, nearly dead but still, somehow, driving to the finish line behind an 11-year-old mare,” judge John Quinn said. “And all he could think about was that they didn’t cut open his driving suit to save him because ‘these things aren’t cheap.’ It is a great tale told with style, grace and nuance, as well as great reporting and attention to detail without overdramatizing the event.”
Receiving honorable mentions were Rob Longley’s story “Why I Left (And Why I’m Coming Back),” which appeared in the September 2011 issue of Trot magazine, and Perry Lefko’s piece “The Four Billion Dollar Man,” which appeared in the March 2011 edition of Trot magazine.
Of Longley’s story, Quinn said: “Steve Condren is a legend and a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee, but his biggest moment came when he fought cancer and won. The story chronicles his journey. The words paint the picture of the man, especially in the lead where he “looks so calm in the race bike that you might wonder if he has a pulse, nevermind a fighter’s punch.”
Longley won last year’s Hervey Award for feature writing.
About Lefko’s story, Quinn said: “Dana Parham is a big-time bettor, one who does it for a living, and even formed his own company. This feature gives you an interesting look inside the game, behind the scenes of a part of the sport that is not well known, with great quotes and insight.”
Feature writing judge John Quinn is the sports editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer and a longtime follower of harness racing. He also is a volunteer instructor for the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s annual Clyde Hirt Sports Journalism Workshop for college students, held in conjunction with the Hambletonian.
Keith’s story examined online wagering sites, such as HorsePlayer Interactive, and how they affect racetracks. Keith received honorable mention in last year’s contest.
“This is a thoughtful, well-presented piece that deals with a question on everyone’s mind: are services like HPI siphoning dollars away from small-track betting pools – or are they the solution in an increasingly challenged environment?” judge Maryjean Wall said. “This article addresses the dilemma facing small tracks: the small pools that characterize wagering at these venues discourage wagering from those who could help grow these venues. Would an on-line presence become their new lifeblood, or merely another form of competition?”
Honorable mention in the news/commentary division was awarded to Bill Heller’s “In the Eye of the Storm,” which appeared in the Nov. 17, 2011 issue of Canadian Sportsman magazine and reported on the absence of several top drivers and trainers at the Breeders Crown because of a snowstorm.
“This story details some fascinating background on why 37 driver changes occurred on the sport’s championship night,” Wall said.
News/commentary judge Maryjean Wall, Ph.D., was a three-time Hervey Award winner while working as the horse racing writer for the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader for 35 years. She is author of How Kentucky Became Southern: a Tale of Outlaws, Horse Thieves, Gamblers, and Breeders (University Press of Kentucky, 2010).
Kaplan and Keith will be honored at USHWA’s annual Dan Patch Awards dinner, to be held Feb. 12, at the DoubleTree Hilton at SeaWorld of Orlando.
For tickets to attend the banquet contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take out a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com.
JEFF GURAL, BIG BAD JOHN'S JUG WIN RAILBIRD RECOGNITION AWARDS- Voting for the Railbird Recognition Awards ended on New Year’s Eve and the voices of the fans of harness racing have been heard. After nearly 8,000 votes were cast, Jeff Gural was named the 2011 Horseperson of the Year and Big Bad John’s Little Brown Jug win was tabbed as the most memorable Racing Moment of 2011.
Jeff Gural, who owns and operates Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs in New York State, stepped in and took the lead role in an attempt to save the Meadowlands Racetrack from being permanently closed after the State of New Jersey decided to cut ties with the racing industry. A longtime owner and breeder himself, Gural knew if the Meadowlands went down, the rest of the industry would more than likely follow. In a short time and without many options, Gural was able to broker agreements with the state of New Jersey, labor unions and horsemen’s groups in order to lay the foundation that would ultimately lead to the re-opening of the mecca of harness racing this Friday (January 6th) and guarantee its survival with a 30 year lease.
During the negotiations Gural stated “I would say this is mostly about my caring about harness racing. There are a lot of people whose livelihoods depend on this.” And as a result of Gural’s hard work, the livelihoods of a lot of people will be protected for the foreseeable future.
After learning of how the fans of racing felt about his efforts, Gural said “I was very happy to hear I was chosen by the fans to receive this award; it means a great deal to me. I would like to thank them all for their support and pledge to them that I will do everything I can to make the racing product at the new Meadowlands Racetrack something we can all be proud of.”
In winning Horseperson of the Year, Jeff Gural received 47% of the fans votes. George Brennan finished second with 28%.
September in Delaware, Ohio is always an exciting time, but the scene this year was one that (obviously) a lot of people remembered. Ohio owned by Ed Telle, Ohio trained by Ron Potter and Ohio driven by Dave Miller, local hero Big Bad John became the first horse stabled year round at the Delaware County Fairgrounds to win the Little Brown Jug.
Big Bad John’s win didn’t come easy as Up The Credit pushed him to the half and shortly after that, second heat winner Roll With Joe pulled and dueled him all the way to the wire. But the hard fought win was an epic moment as the 50,000+ on hand roared as the colt returned to the winners circle.
When Ed Telle learned of winning this award he said “That race was a moment I’ll never forget. It was an all Buckeye win and we must have had 300 people in the winner’s circle. It was exciting to hear the fans reaction to such a special moment then and I am happy that, by virtue of this award, it has remained such a great racing memory for them now.”
Telle continued “Big Bad John is in to go at Pompano Saturday (1-7) and if he wins he will become a millionaire and he will be retired. He will be standing at Midland Acres in Ohio and we will try to start the next generation of Ohio bred greatness with him. It’s only right that he stands in Ohio.”
Voting for Racing Moment of the Year was very close as Big Bad Johns Jug received 28% of the fans vote, George Brennan winning both the Hambo and the Oaks was second with 25% and San Pail’s Breeders Crown victory was third with 24%.
Jeff Gural and the connections of Big Bad John will be presented the fan voted Railbird Recognition Awards at the 2012 Dan Patch Awards Banquet in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, February 12th. Tickets for the dinner will be $125 per person, and tables of ten are available. Ticket reservations can be made by e-mailing or calling Callie Davies-Gooch at callie@hambletonian.org or 732.547.9459 or Steven Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net or 954.654.3757.
WALKER NAMED TOP AMATEUR DRIVER-The US Trotting Association recognizes him as Mitchell K. Walker but in harness racing circles he’s known by his middle name, Kelly. And to be more precise, in the amateur movement he goes by the nickname “Sky”….. and for Kelly “Sky” Walker these are good times.
He placed well in the seven month C.K.G. Billings Amateur Driving Series and in early December Walker won the premier event of the Billings Series, the $25,000 Delvin Miller Memorial Gold Cup Driving Championship at The Meadows.
And now Walker has been named National Amateur Driver of the Year by the United States Harness Writers Association.
“My goodness I can’t say enough about how I feel about receiving this honor,” Walker said after being told of his accolade.” It’s amazing to me. I’m thrilled. I had a great year and more than that I had a great time driving and to receive an honor like this is just the icing on the cake.”
Over the past three years Walker has won 43 races in 210 starts and has shown real ability as a harness driver. Asked if he has any aspirations of turning professional it didn’t take him long to answer, “No… I’m not interested in becoming a professional. Not at my age now. Maybe if I was in my 20’s I’d think differently but I’m having too much fun as an amateur.”
Back in October, Walker was the selection of the North American Amateur Drivers Association to represent the U.S.A in the upcoming and most prestigious World Cup of Amateur Racing which will be staged in New Zealand in Mid-January.
When he heard the news Walker said joyously, “It’s absolutely fabulous. I’m overwhelmed and exceedingly honored to be selected to represent the United States in the World Cup. “It’s (the World Cup) the top of the game and a huge honor.”
Walker, 55,a farmer out of Davison, MI, was introduced to the harness races by his dad when he was a youngster. He learned to read a program and handicap the races but at age 18 his main interest was purchasing a Corvette which he had been saving for. However, his dad told him he could attract as many girls with a horse as he could with a car. So instead of buying that famed sports automobile Walker purchased his first race horse and then shortly after he had four; and even employed a professional trainer.
Walker was a hands-on owner and would help jog and train. But when his father passed away the demands of their family farm and greenhouse left him with no time for the horses. Twenty years had transpired before Walker purchased his next racehorse. .
Finally after jogging and training his own stock for seven years under the mentoring of veteran horseman, Terry Tomlin, Kelly drove his first amateur race in 2004 as a member of the Michigan Great Lakes Amateur Driving Club. During the 2009 campaign Walker was named the Michigan Amateur Driver of the Year.
A few years ago Walker joined the Billings Series and as time allows he competes whenever he can.
This year was Walker’s best season to date when he finished with a lofty .391UDRS on the strength of 15 wins, 10 seconds and four thirds in 56 starts. Thus far in just six short seasons of amateur driving, with a limited amount of starts, Walker currently has 54 victories.
Walker will receive his accolade when the U.S. Harness Writers Association presents their Dan Patch Awards Dinner at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at Sea World on International Drive in Orlando, Fla. on February 12th.
OLSSON-BURGESS NAMED HUMANITARIAN-Christmas Eve is the night that Santa usually does his good deeds, but to a group of impoverished youth in Swaziland, Africa, Santa has already come in the guise of the organization Swazi Kids, among whom is the wife of noted Canadian trainer Blair Burgess, Karin Olsson-Burgess, who is being honored by the U.S. Harness Writers Association with the January Davies Humanitarian Award.
The Swazi Kids organization, based in British Columbia, was founded after the Carlson family went along with father/husband Bruce Carlson on a business trip and stopped in Swaziland, where they were “struck by the pastoral beauty, the gentleness of the people, and the poverty of Swaziland.” The charity started with a focus on helping to educate children there – hundreds of thousands of their children go uneducated – and has since spread its ambitions to building projects, drilling for water, and providing the necessities of life.
Olsson-Burgess has been to Swaziland three times herself during her involvement with the organization – in fact, she was in Africa when she was notified she was to receive this award. Additionally, she and Blair were in on the “ground floor” of Swazi Kids’ educational efforts, as the pair has financially sponsored the education of four children for each of the last ten years.
The education of a child in Swaziland can range from $200 per year at the primary level to as much as $700 for a secondary-level year. To learn more of the educational and other programs of Swazi Kids, go to their website at www.swazikids.org.
Olsson-Burgess will receive her award at the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Olsson-Burgess, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
ANTONACCI AND ARMBRO VANQUISH AWARDED-Two names associated with “excellence in trotting families,” horseman Frank Antonacci and the broodmare Armbro Vanquish, have recently been voted year-end awards in a polling of the U.S. Harness Writers Association. Antonacci was honored with the Lew Barasch Breakthrough Award, while Armbro Vanquish was named Trotting Broodmare of the Year.
The “Antonacci” name has long been associated with diamondgaited excellence through their Lindy Farms, with founders Guy (Sonny) Antonacci and “Big Frank” Antonacci enshrined in the sport’s Hall of Fame for their horses’ accomplishments on the racetrack and in the breeding shed. Sonny’s son Frank, along with Frank’s brother Gerry, have carried on the tradition well, with this “middle Frank” recently added to the Hall of Fame’s trustees – and now it appears to be the turn of Frank, 28, to shine.
Frank graduated from Boston College with a business degree and had intended to set off in the financial world, but an opportunity to be head trainer for Lindy stock such as world champions Crazed and Highscore Kemp presented itself. Frank thus entered the backstretch life, but in the past year or so seems to be returning to his educational-based roots to take a more forward role in the operational side of stable activities.
This past year Frank, stating “that there needs to be a grassroots effort for this industry to survive and thrive,” was the primary force behind the Bourbon Slush Stable, a combination of 100 owners who paid $500 apiece to get a fractional share of the eponymous promising colt – ownership that often served as their introduction to the racing business. Bourbon Slush showed flashes of promise at 2 this year, and the “past performances” of Lindy horses at three (including multiple Hambletonian winners) should make for an exciting campaign, with Frank, “the younger generation,” progressively using social media to keep his ownership group informed.
A mare who would not be out of place in the Lindy Farms’ long history of excellent producers would be Armbro Vanquish (Garland Lobell – Armbro Whirl, bred by Armstrong Brothers and currently serving as a broodmare for Kentuckiana Farms), who herself earned over $300,000 on the racetrack before entering the broodmare ranks with success, including giving birth to a Donerail daughter named Armbro Dejavu who would prove important to a major story of this past year.
The competitive 2011 3TC ranks saw many horses rise to the fore, and Armbro Vanquish, unusually, had a “hoof” in two of them – her own Yankee Glide offspring Manofmanymissions, winner of over $1.2M who showed his guttiness during a 3-heat victory in the Kentucky Futurity, where he edged out another top colt, Dejarmbro, a son of Credit Winner out of --- Armbro Dejavu, daughter of Armbro Vanquish!
Frank Antonacci and the connections of Armbro Vanquish will receive their awards at the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Antonacci and/or Armbro Vanquish, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
LEDERMAN AND MALINOWSKI TO BE FETED-Two New Jerseyans united by a keen appreciation for harness racing, spectacles, and producing effective results have been honored by the U.S. Harness Writers Association in recent balloting: announcer extraordinaire Larry Lederman was voted the W.R. Haughton Good Guy Award, while Dr. Karyn Mainowski, surely the only department head at Rutgers who occasionally arrives on campus with mud and other brown matter on her footgear, was selected for the LeeAnne Pooler Unsung Hero Award.
Lederman, a35-year veteran of the racing game, is of course best-known for his announcing abilities, describing races accurately and vividly, and often throwing in a touch of his days as a standup comedian – from a groaning pun to a pitch-perfect imitation of Howard Cosell, Billy Crystal, and other celebrities as if they were put behind the racing microphone.
This past spring, Lederman accounted an unexpected entry into his life, much more serious than a little-known shipper – he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. But instead of being down or going off into a self-pitying corner, Lederman, in absolutely idiosyncratic style, has spoken frankly about his problem in an effort to educate, and as his submitted biography noted, “A call to cheer him up usually ends in a laughfest. His spirit and mental resiliency through the toughest of fights has been nothing short of outstanding.” (And how many other announcers have a bobblehead doll fashioned in their likeness?)
Dr. Karyn Malinowski, Director of the Equine Science Center of Rutgers, can usually be found in the forefront of intelligent discussion about the current fortunes of harness racing and horse racing in general, especially about the equine racer’s future in her home state of New Jersey, which was drastically threatened by the recent decisions in the Garden State to privatize the two state-owned tracks, the Meadowlands (harness’s flagship track) and Monmouth.
Her research, and then her presentations, of the hard facts about the great contributions made to New Jersey’s agrieconomy by racing horses has been the baseline for intrastate debates, and many credit her for, without fanfare but forcibly, helping swing the tide against what looked to be an extinction of Jersey racing. Also to be noted is that “Dr. K” did not gain her knowledge sitting in an ivory tower of academia – she is literally a hands-on person, and her hands can sometimes be found in the handholds of a jogging horse (thus the “shoe” reference above).
Larry Lederman and Dr. Karyn Malinowski will receive their awards at the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Malinowski and/or Lederman, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
FIELDING, BURKE NAMED TOP OWNER AND TRAINER-It was the long and the short of it for 6’5” western PA horseman Ron Burke in recent year-end honors balloting by the U.S. Harness Writers Association. Burke easily won the Glen Garnsey Trainer of the Year Award, with the largest surplus in all of the contests, but his ownership entity (Burke Racing LLC) and its combination with his good friends and main owning partners Mark Weaver and Mike Bruscemi (Weaver Bruscemi LLC) lost in the Norman Woolworth Owner of the Year competition to prominent Ontario horseman John Fielding – by one vote.
Fielding is certainly deserving of his honor, having campaigned 16 horses who made $100,000 or more during the 2011 campaign. The most famous of them was the comet-blur three-year-old pacing filly See You At Peelers, who will be regarded as one of her division’s most talented-ever horses, but the Fielding barn also sent out Breeders Crown champions Cedar Dove (3TF) and Uncle Peter (2TC), putting him in second-place in wins and money in the alltime series billed “It All Comes Down to the Breeders Crown.”
Fielding was also involved in a philanthropic effort in 2011, as he and his co-owners of the fast sophomore trotter Pastor Stephen donated 5% of his earnings to “Pastor Stephen Racing for Africa,” a charity established by the hometown minister of trainer Jimmy Takter to battle the desperate economic conditions of the subequatorial continent.
Ron Burke, long a master of the far-flung and successful raceway stable, had 790 winners at press time (more than headbobbing drivers Dan Noble and George Brennan), but this year marked a watershed for Burke after making his stable a major factor in many stakes races (his 2011 stable earnings are over $18M, more than 2 ½ times his nearest foe), in most divisions, and at seemingly every track.
The star of stars for Burke was the freshman pacing colt Sweet Lou (which he co-owns with Weaver Bruscemi, Lawrence Karr, and Phil Collura), whose 1:49 victory in his Breeders Crown final on a cool autumn night at Woodbine was merely the fastest mile in harness history by a two-year-old. Another Burke contender for seasonal honors (which will be announced next Tuesday) is the ironsided FFA pacer Foiled Again, who bankrolled $1.4M of his career $3.4M cashflow this past campaign – and lowered his mark to 1:48 at age seven.
Burke and Fielding will receive their individual awards (and maybe some more for their champion equines) at the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Fielding and/or Burke, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
BRENNAN NAMED DRIVER OF THE YEAR; NOBLE RISING STAR-They’ve been locked in a furious 1-2 chase for the national championship in driving wins during 2011 – so it seems appropriate that George Brennan (Driver of the Year) and Dan Noble (Rising Star Award) would be the featured sulkysitters in recent balloting among the members of the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
Brennan is the first outright winner of his award in consecutive years (although Tim Tetrick won outright in 2007, then tied with Dave Palone in 2008). This season, Brennan took a quite different route to keep himself on top: instead of driving against the all-star colony during The Meadowlands meet and then focusing on handling stakes horses the rest of the year, as he had for several seasons, Brennan in late 2010 set up shop at Yonkers Raceway, North America’s top track for purses, and focused his 2011 efforts mostly on overnight racing. To date this season he has racked up 693 victories and $11.2M at Yonkers alone, in a year where he has 750 total wins and $14.5M in earnings.
But don’t think George totally let the stakes horses go by this year – in fact, he accomplished a major “stakes double” by winning the sport’s biggest race, the $1,500,000 Hambletonian, with Broad Bahn, and the $750,000 Hambo Oaks with Bold And Fresh, on the big August Saturday card at The Meadowlands.
Dan Noble, son of three-time national UDR champion Sam “Chip” Noble III, has put it all together this season; while Brennan focused on Yonkers, Noble will be the leading driver at three Ohio raceway tracks – Northfield, Scioto, and Lebanon, all by goodly margins – and he won races at 25 different Buckeye fairs this summer, including his topping of the Grand Circuit-calibre driving colony during Little Brown Jug week at the Delaware OH County Fair.
As this is being typed, Noble has a 752-750 lead over Brennan for the crown, and no matter which horseman comes out on top, he will be only the 25th driver since records started being kept in 1946 to win the coveted title. (Should Noble win, he and his dad would be the only father-son team to have a national dashwinning title and UDR title between them.) And Brennan probably has a greater insight into what is facing Noble, and what he has done this campaign, than most – for George was the Rising Star winner in 1996! But no matter who gets the dash crown, both drivers deserve their accolades for their stellar 2011 seasons.
George Brennan and Dan Noble will receive their awards at the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Noble or Brennan, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
HUSTON WINS PROXIMITY AWARD-Roger Huston, the dean of harness racecallers known as “The Voice” of The Meadows and the Little Brown Jug, has been voted the Proximity Award in balloting conducted among the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
The Proximity is considered second in prestige, only behind the Hall of Fame, in North American harness racing, and now Roger has a “matched pair” – because he was inducted into the Communicators Hall in 2000.
A native of Xenia OH, Huston gradually built up his reputation as a racecaller nonpareil early in his career, then got a big break when the Delaware (OH) County Fair, home of the prestigious Little Brown Jug, brought him on to handle microphone duties during that Grand Circuit meet. And nobody has been able to wrest that particular microphone away from Roger in the last 45 years.
Huston has had almost as long and distinguished a tenure at The Meadows, the racino south of Pittsburgh PA, and at that track he has established a semi-announcing record that should never be topped: he has been the host (while still calling the races) of The Meadows Racing Network, one of the earliest – and still one of the best – signalsendings available to satellite customers, betting or just viewing, anywhere.
A flamboyant and enthusiastic soul – just ask any of the ten rings he wears – Huston has taken his announcing talents “on the road” more than probably any other announcer, having called the trotters and pacers at 126 different tracks in 17 states and 7 countries.
In addition to being in the harness Communicators Hall of Fame, Roger is a member of six regional Halls of Fame; earned the publicists’ Allen J. Finkelson Golden Pen Award; and was leading driver in the C.K.G. Billings amateur series. A trustee of the Hall of Fame, Roger is currently serving his second six-year term on the USHWA-Hall of Fame Screening Committee, a prestigious position, and he is a longtime Director representing Pennsylvania for the Harness Writers.
Still on the sunny side of 70 (but not for long), Roger Huston tires out people half his age with his energy and drive, is a friend of countless individuals of merit in the sport – and still calls a pretty mean harness race. That package, gathered in one modest man, spells out “Proximity.”
Roger Huston will receive his Proximity Award at the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Huston, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
ZIMMERMAN NAMED USHWAn OF THE YEAR-Leon Zimmerman, a member of harness racing’s Communicators Hall of Fame who has for the last two years spearheaded a committee to bring the By-Laws of the U.S. Harness Writers Association up to “21st-century code,” has been selected as USHWA’s Member of the Year.
Zimmerman is a 45-year veteran of the Trenton (NJ) State House in “day jobs” as award-winning journalist and innovative director of public relations for the New Jersey Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association. He has time and again shown his devotion to USHWA, including a two-year stint as the organization’s president and serving as the co-chair of the organization’s annual awards dinner three times. His USHWA sobriquet of “able parliamentarian” indicates the main reason why USHWA president Jason Settlemoir selected him to head the USHWA By-Laws Revision Committee, with John Pawlak of the USTA serving as his co-chair.
Meeting face-to-face and by e-mail and phone frequently over the last two years, the Committee has thoroughly scanned the current By-Laws for “housekeeping” language cleanups, made sure that commonly-accepted practices would be codified, and – its biggest challenge of all – insuring that the lifeblood of money in the treasury of USHWA, a not-for-profit organization, is being used to maximum effect, for the good of harness racing and also the organization.
Settlemoir, an ex-officio member of the By-Laws Revision Committee, said, “Leon Zimmerman has over the years made very important contributions to the welfare of USHWA, and with his knowledge of legal proceedings and his being the ‘able parliamentarian,’ I thought he would do a fine job in heading this all-important By-Laws Revision Committee – and I did handicap that ‘race’ correctly, based on my work with the group and what I’ve seen.”
Zimmerman, who has won the top honor given by the Harness Publicists Association (now the Standardbred Media and Marketing Association), the Allen J. Finkelson Golden Pen Award for lifetime accomplishments in harness racing publicity, also has the Harness Horsemen’s International Media Award on his shelf. He is only the third USHWAn to win the Member of the Year honor two times (he previously was feted in 1998); ironically, all three of the “double USHWAns” earned their honors while working in New Jersey – Steve Wolf (who has since transplanted to Florida), Moira Fanning, and now Leon.
Zimmerman will receive his award at the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Zimmerman, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
SWEET FUTURE NAMED TOP BROODMARE-Sweet Future, a homebred daughter of Falcon’s Future-Sweet Dahrlin whose progeny lit up both the two-year-old and the free-for-all pacing ranks this season, was the unanimous choice of the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s broodmare board of experts, and thus she wins the 2011 Pacing Broodmare of the Year Award in a “walkover,” without needing the vote of USHWA’s rank and file.
A foal of 1998 bred by the Uptown Stable of the successful California businessman Seth Rosenfeld (of Beach Towel fame), Sweet Future took a mark of 1:54.2 as a three-year-old and then was retired to the broodmare ranks under the aegis of Rosenfeld’s Birnam Wood Stable – Birnam Wood being the “unmovable” forest that proved the undermining of Macbeth in Shakespeare’s famous play.
And indeed, the foes of the mare’s principal stars of 2011 – freshman Sweet Lou and evergreen Bettor Sweet – hated to see those opponents inexorably coming towards them, as the sons of Sweet Future came out on top in many a racetrack battle.
Sweet Lou, by Yankee Cruiser, as a 2011 two-year-old paced in 1:49 in winning the Breeders Crown on a cool night at Woodbine October 29 – merely the fastest mile ever by a two-year-old in harness racing history. His other stakes victories, including dominance in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes program, earned his connections $686,647, and marks him as one of the very top horses going into 2012’s “glamour division” of three-year-old pacing colts.
The Bettor’s Delight-Sweet Future mating Bettor Sweet had his best year on the racetrack in 2011, finishing first eight times and second seven times more, earning $879,000 against the likes of Foiled Again, We Will See, and one of the strongest FFA crops in recent history, zooming his lifetime bank account to $2,216,104.
Sweet Future also earned her fourth 1:55 credit in 2011, from the four-year-old Real Desire gelding Sweet Vengeance. Her other 1:55 performer is her 2003 daughter with Artsplace, the 1:51.4f winner Sweet Paprika.
Owner/breeder Rosenfeld was delighted to hear of his mare winning honors (as if there were ever doubt), and says he looks forward to attending the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.
For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Rosenfeld, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other awardwinners, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800 327 0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.
2011 UNY USHWA NIGHT OF DISTINCTION- Click here to see a photo recap of all the awards winners from the year end presentations held at Batavia Downs on Saturday December 3rd.
NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER 50TH BANQUET- Click this link to see a photo show of their silver ceremony.
MONTI-GOSHEN 53rd BANQUET RECAP- Click this link to see a photo show of the traditional gala held for over a half century
PRESIDENT'S AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED-Jeff Gural, Tom Luchento, and Leo McNamara – the three lead forces fighting for the longterm surviving and thriving of the sport’s premier track, the Meadowlands -- have been personally selected by U.S. Harness Writers Association’s president Jason Settlemoir for “President’s Awards,” to be given at the Dan Patch Awards Banquet on Sunday, February 12 at the DoubleTree Orlando (FL) by Hilton Hotel at SeaWorld.
Gural, a New York real estate developer and longtime standardbred owner and breeder, was already the owner of two New York tracks, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs, when he became the point man in gathering the necessary capital to acquire and revamp the Meadowlands. Luchento, a former trainer/driver, is the president of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners of New Jersey (SBOANJ), and McNamara, who has run many successful breeding operations, is SBOANJ’s executive administrator. The horsemen’s group is working with Gural and his partners to bring about the vision of a new and reinvigorated Meadowlands, including the construction of a new grandstand.
Settlemoir, also vice president of racing and simulcasting at Tioga and Vernon, said, “I don’t know of three individuals more worthy of this small token of appreciation than Jeffrey Gural, Tommy Luchento, and Leo McNamara, for their work in saving our ‘flagship’ track, the Meadowlands, which was on the brink of closure. All three have played key roles in moving the state-operated racetrack into private hands.
“Gural contacted Luchento about the future of the Meadowlands and was told that the Governor’s Office was preparing a statement saying that the Meadowlands would be closing,” Settlemoir explained. “Jeff, Tom, and Leo quickly arranged a meeting with Governor (Christie), and soon following the meeting Jeff signed a letter of intent with the Governor to lease the Meadowlands from the state.
“Jeff, Tommy, and Leo have since worked countless hours, and endured many sleepless nights, as they continue to try to figure out the puzzle that has been laid before them,” Settlemoir continued. “What happens next is anyone’s guess, but there is no doubt that these gentlemen went far beyond the call of duty in giving this much hope to continued racing at The Meadowlands, and for that and many more reasons, these President’s Awards go to Jeff, Tommy, and Leo, along with great thanks for what you have done – and what you are going to continue to do.”
(For reservations at the DoubleTree, call 800 327 0363 and use the code “C-DPA”; for banquet tickets, contact Steve Wolf at 954 654 3757; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, inquire to Kim Rinker at 708 557 2790.)
2012 DAN PATCH JOURNAL AD PRICING-There have been many inquiries about the availability and pricing for the 2012 Awards Journal for the upcoming banquet in Orlando, Florida. Click here to download an information sheet that will answer all your questions.
TAKTER, FANNING, EMERSON INTO HALL-Jimmy Takter, whose journey from promising horseman in early-80’s Sweden to the very pinnacle of conditioning harness racehorse worldwide, has been rewarded for his outstanding talents and successes with election to harness racing’s Living Hall of Fame, in balloting recently conducted by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
Takter, 50, has of course brought the trotting knowledge he learned from generations of trainers in his native land and raised it to a fine art – but he stands alone these days in being a European-educated conditioner who is having equal success with pacing standardbreds, with his resume full of champion horses from both gaits in recent campaigns.
Take, for example, this year, where the #1 horse in the weekly Top Ten poll has for months been See You At Peelers, a three-year-old pacing filly who fashioned a 22-race win streak, set a world record at Tioga, won her Breeders Crown championship last year, and is being given serious consideration as being only the second filly (after Fan Hanover in 1980) to win the time-honored Little Brown Jug in late September while taking on the top colts.
Consider, also, that on two days of stakes events at Mohawk this weekend, Takter has no less than 15 entrants in the rich contests – 9 of them pacers, and 6 trotters. (And of course won both the rich two-year-old events, the Metro [Simply Business] and the She's A Great Lady [(American Jewel] -- both paces!)
Takter’s earlier successes were of course achieved mainly with trotters, including the fabled Moni Maker, an international champion who earned $5.6M in her racetrack career and was twice named Harness Horse of the Year, in 1998 and 1999. They included his handling of stars such as Malabar Man (1997 Harness Horse of the Year, in retrospect starting a three-year Takter “sweep”), Kadabra (2002 Trotter of the Year), and double divisional champion fillies Passionate Glide and Passionate Princess.
Being in the media spotlight with so much high-powered equine octane has developed Jimmy into a gracious and accessible horseman and minister for the sport – and often candid with a post-race quote. He has been elected North American Trainer of the Year a record three times: 1996, 2000, and 2010.
Takter also makes no secret of the fact that he regards America as “the land of opportunity,” and flies an American flag on an island in the infield lake of his New Jersey training center – a flag appearing in the first paragraph of a New York Times feature written on Takter, on (appropriately) July 4 of this year.
Jimmy Takter will be twice feted for his Hall of Fame election – the first will come at USHWA’s Dan Patch awards dinner on Sunday, February 12 in Orlando FL; the other will be his formal induction into the Hall of Fame during a dinner in the Hall’s hometown of Goshen NY on July 1, 2012.
Elections for the Hall of Fame are conducted by the U.S. Harness Writers Association, a 225-member organization of the sport’s media, with Living Hall of Famers also getting a vote to elect peers. The Delaware firm of Davis-Smith Accounting handles the distribution, tallying, and official certification of the election results.
Jean Emerson and Moira Fanning, pioneering journalists who have crossed the country (north to south and back in Emerson’s case, east to west and back in Fanning’s), have been recognized for their outstanding efforts in harness racing with election to the sport’s Communicators Hall of Fame, in balloting recently conducted by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
Emerson, a proud resident of Saco in southern Maine, started out in harness racing campaigning horses with her late husband Chet around the New England circuit. With a teaching background, Emerson quickly realized that the sport needed some background administrative workers to help put the industry’s best foot forward, so she co-founded the Maine Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association, and had an early hand in drafting a position paper that eventually morphed into the recent rejuvenation of the Pine Tree State’s racing through additional gaming funding.
Jean’s chief journalistic mark was as founder of the Northeast Harness News, which chronicled not only racing in that area but horses and horsemen from the upper northeast who went on to do well at other venues. Working on a shoestring budget (her checkbook) and with a thin staff (usually her, some stringers, and a couple of volunteers), Emerson developed the paper into a well-read, insightful, and entertaining newspaper – that last factor usually provided by her droll sense of humor. Jean eventually was named a member of the New England Harness Hall of Fame
Jean and Chet later took on a life of summering in Maine and wintering in Florida; while down south Emerson became an important contributor to the Florida USHWA chapter. Despite advancing years, Emerson still works twice as hard as people half her age.
One person who can stay with Emerson in the energy-level competition is Moira Sullivan Fanning, who wears many hats in her superior work for the Hambletonian Society, eponymous sponsors of harness racing’s #1 race and also the season-ending (and often season-defining) Breeders Crown series.
Moira was surrounded by horses from an early age, but didn’t come to standardbreds until the point she needed a job to pay for college. Fanning’s love of equines caused her to change her career plans, and during her early caretaker stints came across horseman Tom Fanning, who now joins Moira as one of racing’s most solid “coupled entries.” It was the (then) Sullivan-Fanning combo who brought Moira to California as part of their itinerant early years together, making a living at racing.
Fanning returned to her East Coast roots, and not long after caught the eye of Tom Charters, COO of the Hambletonian Society. Charters, known for having a good eye in spotting developing talent early (human and equine), hired Moira as his right-hand woman, and given this chance Fanning has shot up the ranks to become one of the most powerful – and insightful – people in the sport, one often turned to for opinions on the ranking issues of the day. (And she still works 24-7 during Hambletonian and Breeders Crown times.)
Jean Emerson and Moira Fanning will be twice feted for their Communicators Hall of Fame selection – the first will come at USHWA’s Dan Patch awards dinner on Sunday, February 12 in Orlando FL; the other will be their formal induction into the Communicators Hall of Fame during July 1 ceremonies in Goshen NY.
Elections for the Communicators Hall of Fame are conducted by the U.S. Harness Writers Association, a 225-member organization of the sport’s media. The Delaware firm of Davis-Smith Accounting handles the distribution, tallying, and official certification of the election results.
USHWA NEW MEMBER BROCHURE IS HERE-The hard work of the New Member Committee led by Chairwoman Jessica Schroeder has brought to frution a new tool to help broaden and build the membership of USHWA. It is a colorful and informational brochure that will explain exactly what USHWA is, what USHWA does, and why those who work in the sporting media would want to join.
You can download a printable version of it here.
We also had hard copies printed and are looking for all of our members to take this opportunity to help distribute the pamphlets (either electronically of paper copy) to anyone you may think would be intersted in becoming a part of our organization or convince someone who is not. It is inthe best interest of USHWA to get as many people on board with us to help promote our great sport.
Hard copy requests can be made to jessica.schroeder@ustrotting.com .
BANQUET, MEETINGS TOP FLORIDA WEEKEND-The United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) recently conducted its two days of annual meetings in conjunction with the annual Dan Patch Awards banquet at the Marriott North in Fort Lauderdale FL.USHWA, a 200+-strong collection of the major communicators in the sport of harness racing, is a group constantly in change, and often ahead of the harness racing curve. For example, in picking two finalists for the ballot of its Communicators Hall of Fame, it selected two outstanding women – Jean Emerson, the feisty former editor of the Northeast Harness News who still helps drive many USHWA projects, and Moira Fanning, the dynamic top executive of the Breeders Crown series and Hambletonian Society, who herself was honored as USHWA’s Member of the Year during the awards banquet.
The Dan Patch Awards banquet, annually presented by USHWA, brought together 400 people in the Marriott ballroom – and countless others via the first-ever videowebstreaming of the banquet. The connections of Rock N Roll Heaven, champion three-year-old pacing colt looking forward to a bright future at stud, were involved in no fewer than six awards, including the most-coveted of all, the E. Roland Harriman Dan Patch Harness Horse of the Year trophy.
As is natural, the Horse of the Year presentations came at the end of the banquet; the banquet opened with the presenting of an USHWA Hall of Fame ring to Murray Janoff, 96 years young, who recently had had his original prize possession stolen by domestic help. USHWA had a “no-brainer” to give the only surviving founding member from its 1947 origins the memento that he so richly deserves.
During their business meetings, USHWA heard reports from all sixteen of the committees put together by ambitious president Jason Settlemoir (Tioga Downs/Vernon Downs) in an effort to keep USHWA on the cutting edge. Perhaps the most eagerly-watched group, the By-Laws Revision Committee, was represented by co-chair Leon Zimmerman, who unveiled a new mission statement for USHWA, promised focus on financial questions and Hall of Fame voting as the immediate next focuses of the group, and held two meetings during the weekend.
The end of the business meetings also honored a veteran, as Alan Prince, 40+ years USHWA Treasurer and as financial a hawk and (growling) watchdog as ever a group could hope to have, finally allowed himself to retire, only to be voted into the newly-created position of Executive Treasurer, and then give an excellent peroration of his time with USHWA, past, present, and (hopefully a long) future. Former USHWA President Judy Davis-Wilson will now take over Treasurer duties.
“The weekend went about as well, maybe better, than anyone could expect,” exulted USHWA president Settlemoir afterwards. “USHWA recognizes its duties in these roller-coaster times for harness racing and plans to make its maximum contribution for the continued viability of the sport. And those who attended the dinner raved about all aspects of it, which is directly due to the work of Steve Wolf and his Dinner Committee crew. We did so well here, we may come back to Florida for our 2012 meetings and Dinner!”
WATCH DAN PATCH BANQUET VIDEO HERE-Archived video of the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s “Dan Patch Awards Banquet", that took place on Sunday, Feb. 27 is available by clicking the link below. Todd Roberts spearheaded the production efforts through his Roberts Communications Network, a Las Vegas-based organization. Roberts Communications also sponsored the pioneering narrowcast, along with the USTA, and New York’s Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs racetracks.
Click here to watch the entire banquet.
BERGSTEIN TO BE HONORED AT BANQUET-The late Stan Bergstein, who was (not-so-)arguably the greatest executive in the sport of harness racing over the last 50 years, and the only “double Hall of Fame” honoree, will be honored at the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA)’s Dan Patch Awards banquet in late winter 2012.
Bergstein first came to prominence as a racecaller in Detroit and Chicago, but it soon became apparent that this was a young man who possessed an enormous array of talents, all of which served the burgeoning growth of harness racing just after midcentury. After revolutionizing the racing office world with the popularization of claiming races, Bergstein “stepped up” to simultaneously handle several positions at the U.S. Trotting Association, including executive editor of Hoof Beats magazine – and he was the one who changed over the acclaimed magazine from largely black-and-white reportage to the accoladed color feature publication it still is today.
After Don MacFarlane established Harness Tracks of America as a prime resource for racing operators during his 1954-1961 presidency, HTA hired Bergstein as executive vice-president, and this year marks his 50th in terms of service to the association – 49 as executive vice-president, and then, in deeply-begrudged admittance that time may have a toll on even Stan Bergstein at 86-years-young, this year in the newly-created Executive Emeritus position.
As its name implies, Harness Tracks of America is an invaluable resource for its member associations, offering surveys and detailed analysis (and transcripts) of the sort of questions track management need. But he also did so much more, including forming an allegiance in 1974 with the University of Arizona and its incipient Race Track Industry Program, the first opportunity of its kind to specifically prepare young women and men for careers in the equine industries, of all breeds. Bergstein realized the opportunity to synergize an annual conference with these budding executives, and, through his many connections, assured the annual Racing Symposium the very best of speakers, on overall management theory and on the “hot-button” issues of the day. (Perhaps not ironically, when his family needed to relocate to warmer climes, Bergstein chose Tucson – the home of the U of A.)
Bergstein was able to tap into so many good people because he has been an ecumenist, an explorer of good ideas regardless of crossing typical industry thinking, within and without harness racing, at a time when (still) many people think that if racing put together a firing squad, it would form in a circle, and then point inward. Nobody but Stan Bergstein could possibly be a regular columnist in the thoroughbred Daily Racing Form, the statistical “bible” of the galloping sport.
For this type of leadership, inquisitiveness, exploration, and innovation, Stan Bergstein was voted into the Communicators Hall of Fame in 1986, and a year later, elevated to the sport’s highest honor, induction into the sport’s Living Hall of Fame. He still is the only “double Hall of Famer”.
“There are few people in the sport, and certainly none of the ‘younger generation,’ who do not revere Stan Bergstein for his unprecedented accomplishments in harness racing,” said Jason Settlemoir, president of USHWA. “Honoring him at our 2012 dinner seems a small ‘thank you’ compared to what he has done for harness communications, racetracks, and just the entire sport in general.”
The United States Harness Writers Association is a group of more than 250 members committed to the chronicling of harness racing through the print and electronic media. It was founded in 1947 by New York City area sportswriters who were covering harness racing at Roosevelt Raceway. It remains the only media organization in harness racing with a membership of newspaper, magazine, radio and TV, ad agency, publicists and others involved in racing communications. With more than 250 members, most of them allied to one of 12 regional chapters, the association strives to bring about a closer relationship among the media, racetracks and horsemen to promote a centuries-old American-bred sport.
USHWA members, in annual voting, choose harness racing's most prestigious awards like the Living Hall of Fame and the Horse-of-the-Year. Its Proximity Achievement Award is one of the sports most cherished honors. It also recognizes top divisional winners and leading drivers and trainers at its annual awards dinner, which began in 1948.
The association is governed by a member board of directors, which represents the chapters and at large members (those living or working in regions where there is no chapter). Also serving are seven national officers and all past presidents.
USHWA works with the united States Trotting Association in the Horse of the Year balloting. USHWA also presents the John Hervey Awards for excellence in writing and broadcasting. Its members choose Hall of Famers, so the association also works closely with The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame at Goshen, New York.
Many chapters hold annual awards or recognition dinners to salute the leading horses and drivers in their areas. Some chapters also raise money for local charities.
Contact USHWA at ushwa@paonline.com
Direct questions or comments to webmaster@ushwa.org
