Trainers John McDermott and
The
McDermotts, brothers who are K earnyNew Jersey
Created
in 1991, the Dancer Award honors an individual whose efforts on behalf of
racing and cooperation with the media are in keeping with the example set by
the late Hall of Fame driver and trainer Stanley Dancer, a native of New Egypt,
New Jersey
The
44-year-old K evin McDermott, who got
his start as a teenager by writing letters – he became a pen pal of sorts with
Dancer and got his first stable job by writing to Meadowlands trainer Jim
Doherty asking for work, is now nearing 1,300 training wins of his own.
He is best known for his conditioning of horses such as Yes Its True, Mac
Action, Blueridge Western, Noble Falcon and Hypnotic Blue Chip. His stable is
$35,000 shy of producing its sixth consecutive million-dollar season.
John
McDermott, 46, traded his job as a police officer for training horses. He also
is enjoying a strong 2012 campaign, thanks in part to speedy 3-year-old colt
pacer Hurrikane K ingcole, who has
posted the second-fastest winning mile (1:47.3) of the year.
The
McDermott brothers have for years provided horses, equipment, time and
expertise for many educational and promotional efforts in harness racing. When
jockey Donna Brothers needed to learn to drive a pacer behind the gate for an NBC
segment, John offered up one of his racehorses and a brand new sulky for the
experience. When the Ridgewood , N.J., Girl
Scouts needed a lesson in horsemanship, K evin
and his wife Sheri happily provided their retired Standardbred Nite Train.
Countless
media people have gotten a lesson in Harness Racing
101 from the brothers, who always take time out of their busy schedules to
demonstrate and explain the finer points of horse racing. Youth camps,
news or talk show segments, a horse for Santa Claus to drive around the track,
an extra stall for a rescue horses, a donation to a worthy charity – the
McDermotts have established themselves as the go-to guys at the Meadowlands.
Previous
recipients of the Dancer Award include drivers John Campbell, Ray Remmen and
Luc Ouellette; trainers Robbie Siegelman, K elly
Stackowicz and George Teague Jr.; the father-son team of Carl and Rod Allen;
the duo of trainer Jimmy Takter and owner/amateur driver Mal Burroughs; the
Meirs Family of Walnridge Farms for the Niatross Tour, and equine facilitator
Robert Sharkey.
Brennan
has covered sports business, with a focus on the Meadowlands complex, since
2002 for the Bergen Record. He joined the paper in 1983 and during his career
spent eight years as the New Jersey Nets traveling beat writer. His Meadowlands
Matters blog was chosen in 2011 as “Best Blog” by the New Jersey Press
Association and in 2008 Brennan and co-writer Jeff Pillets were Pulitzer Prize
finalists for local reporting.
“For
the past two years the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owned
and managed the two primary racetracks in the state, has been in political
flux,” said Moira Fanning , president
of the New Jersey Monmouth
Park
Past recipients of the Media Award include Tom Pedulla of USA
Today, Robert Strauss of the New York Times and K en
Weingartner of the Princeton Packet.
