MONTICELLO NY – Don
Marean, one of the strongest advocates for harness racing in the state of Maine
for going on three decades, and Adriano Sorella, an Ontario advertising
executive who is also looking to put harness racing in a more positive light,
have been selected for President’s Awards by Shawn Wiles, top officer of the
United States Harness Racing Association (USHWA), the sport’s leading media
organization.
Marean owned a
hardware and feed company which he sold to his employees, then with his wife
Linda took up the operation of Lin-Don Farm Inc., a commercial breeding and
owning establishment. As Marean’s understanding of the framework of the
industry grew, he ran for the state House of Representatives in Maine, and has
won election six times. He has been president and director of the Maine
Standardbred Owners Association, and a Director of the Maine Harness Horsemen’s
Association.
Don’s service to
harness racing also extends to the national and North American level. He is the
vice-chairman of the United States Trotting Association and is District
chairman for District 9 (New England). Marean’s service has previously been
recognized with the Distinguished Service Award for the Maine Harness
Horsemen’s Association and with an Appreciation Award from Harness Horsemen
International.
“Don serves as the
Vanguard of harness racing in the great state of Maine,” Shawn Wiles said in
making the announcement. “He has fought long and hard in Maine politics for
many years to protect the interests of our sport and its horsemen throughout
the state.”
Adriano Sorella is
a high-powered marketing executive who has enjoyed success at the uppermost
levels of North American harness racing, starting with Little Brown Jug winner
Vegas Vacation. His most recent success has been Jimmy Freight, who is going to
stud in 2020 after winning $1.3 million, being a major factor in the Ontario
Sire Stakes, and then progressing to high competitiveness against the fastest
pacers in the sport.
Jimmy Freight also
gives a good example of Sorella’s ability to cross-leverage to harness racing’s
advantage – Sorella used Facebook and other cutting-edge technologies to create
quite a Jimmy Freight Fan Club, with seasoned and new fans alike following the
horse. The humanitarian side of Sorella showed when he was one of the leaders
after Classy Lane Stables suffered a horrendous fire in 2016, in which 43
horses perished, helping to raise funds for horsemen whose careers were
literally wiped out by the devastation.
USHWA
President Wiles notes: “Adriano’s skill set of being social media-savvy,
combined with his promotional prowess and outside-the-box thinking, showcases
our great sport in a refreshing and positive light, geared to the general
audience and perhaps even more importantly showcasing the sport to our younger
fan base.”
Don Marean and
Adriano Sorella will be honored at USHWA’s annual Dan Patch Awards Banquet,
celebrating the best and brightest of harness racing in the past year. The
banquet honoring the champions of 2019 will be held on Sunday, February 23,
2020 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando FL, the climax of a weekend
that also finds USHWA holding its annual national meetings. The Trotter of the
Year, Pacer of the Year, and Horse of the Year will be revealed for the first
time at the Banquet.
Tickets for the Dan
Patch Awards Banquet are $180, with a filet mignon dinner featured; “post
times” on February 23 are cocktails at 5:30 p.m., with dinner to follow.
Tickets, and other Banquet-related information, can be obtained through Dinner
Planning Committee Chair Judy Davis-Wilson, at zoe8874@aol.com or 302 359 3630.
Hotel reservations
for those attending can be made through USHWA’s website, www.ushwa.net; a link to the hotel’s computer is
on the front page of the website. Those who would like to take out
congratulatory ads for awardwinners in the always-popular Dan Patch Awards
Journal can do so by contacting Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com or 708
557 2790 (the 2019 journal is online at the writers’ website).
