HARRISBURG PA – The United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), the leading media organization in North American harness racing, has announced the winners of its Dan Patch Awards balloting for excellence exhibited among both equines and humans. The “best of the best” are normally honored at the writers’ Dan Patch Annual Awards Banquet, but that event was cancelled this year due to the ongoing health crisis, so a special Virtual Awards show was broadcast Saturday.
The Dan Patch Awards Show will
be archived & available on the USHWA website (www.usharnesswriters.com)
& USHWA Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/USHarnessWriters) and also on
USTA’s YouTube channel, on Sunday, January 17, 2021.
This release focuses on the
human and broodmare award winners. The racehorse winners, including the Horse
of the Year, will be listed in a separate release being sent at approximately
the same time as this one.
DRIVER DEXTER DUNN, BREEDER BRITTANY FARMS
REPEAT AS WINNERS IN THEIR DAN PATCH CATEGORY
Dexter Dunn, a nine-time
winner of the driving title in his native land of New Zealand before the age of
30, has now been in the United States and Canada for two years, and he has been
voted Driver of the Year both years. 2020 was an especially rich year for him,
in two senses of the word: he was the leading money-winning driver last year
with almost $11.2 million bankrolled by his charges, many of whom were voted
champions of their respective divisions.
In September, October, and
November alone in the shortened season, he drove the winners of 26 races worth
more than $100,000, including the pacing filly champions in both the 2- and
3-year-old ranks, Fire Start Hanover and Party Girl Hill; the two champions
among the older pacing set, stallion Bettor’s Wish and mare Kissin In The Sand;
champion trotting mare Manchego; and champion sophomore trotting male Amigo
Volo. He again won four Breeders Crown races.
During 2021 Brittany Farms has
a very good chance of being only the third breeding concern to have been the
first home of the winners of $200,000,000 – and that figure achieved despite
producing a good many fewer horses than their nearest competitors. They have
tied Hanover Shoe Farms as the #1 breeders of Breeders Crown winners at 27.
Among the farm’s divisional
winners in 2020 were Manchego, Bettor’s Wish, and the undefeated two-year-old
colt pacer Perfect Sting. They were third among breeders in 2020, with their
progeny earning over $5.5 million – again, with fewer starts that others
clustered at the top of the list.
PINSKE STABLES GIVEN NOD AS OWNERS OF THE YEAR;
KELLY SMITH VOTED LEADING CARETAKER
Fifty years in the sport with
their familiar gold and green colors, the Pinske Stables, in their current
composition Marlys Pinske, her son Karl, and her grandson Carter, had a great
year to win the closest vote in all of the Dan Patch categories, 55-48, over
another family operation, the Chaffees’ Caviart Farms.
The Pinskes were in various
tracks’ winners circles after several victories by the richest two-year-olds of
both sexes, the trotting colt Venerate ($767,914) and the pacing filly Fire
Start Hanover ($592,562), along with the leading three-year-old trotting colt,
Amigo Volo, who won his Breeders Crown and the Kentucky Futurity. All three
were voted divisional championships in the writers’ Dan Patch balloting (more
detail in Racehorse release).
The
winner of the 2020 Caretaker of the Year Award, sponsored by Art Zubrod and
Leah Cheverie’s Fair Island Farm, is Kelly Smith, a longtime worker in the barn
of Hall of Fame trainer Chuck Sylvester. Smith was nominated by Sylvester
himself, who called her “my unsung hero.” Smith began working for Sylvester
three decades ago, with one of her first champions being the 1993 Hambletonian
Oaks winner Winky’s Goal. Another of Smith’s many champions and one of her
all-time favorite horses is 2013 Breeders Crown champion Spider Blue Chip.
In
all, 16 nominations for the Fair Island Farm Caretaker of the Year Award were
submitted, with Smith chosen as a winner by a select group of seven USHWAns,
all of whom were former caretakers themselves.
CHAMPION RACEHORSE JK SHE’SALADY NOW 2020 PACING
BROODMARE
OF THE YEAR; VOTE FOR TOP TROTTING BROODMARE
GOES TO STEAMY WINDOWS
Voted Horse of the Year after
going undefeated in twelve freshman starts, the Art Major – Presidential Lady
pacing mare JK She’salady is also showing her quality as a broodmare by winning
that Dan Patch Award against strong opposition. Bred and owned by 3 Brothers
Stables, JK She’salady from her first two foals has produced two outstanding
fillies who ranked among the best of their divisions – the Western Ideal miss
JK First Lady, a winner of over $700,000 and a sub-1:50 performer at both two
and three, and the Always B Miki distaff JK Alwaysbalady, who won her Breeders
Crown elimination then was second in the final. Both raced for 3 Brothers
Stable.
Her trotting counterpart is
Steamy Windows, a daughter of Muscle Massive – Commando Queen who was bred and
is owned by Order By Stable. She produced the Trotter of the Year, the Chapter
Seven stallion Gimpanzee, who won his third straight Breeders Crown and
dominated the free-for-all ranks, raising his career bankroll to $2.7 million.
Gimpanzee’s two-year-old full sister, Iteration, won half of her ten freshman
starts and bankrolled over $300,000.
Nancy Takter, trainer of Horse
of the Year, was previously announced as the Glen Garnsey Trainer of the Year
after being nominated for the award by all of USHWA’s chapters.
-30-
VOTING TOTALS
130 out of 185 (70.3%) of
eligible voters submitted ballots
Nancy Takter unanimously
selected as Trainer of the Year by USHWA’s chapters
Caretaker of the Year selected
by an USHWA panel
|
OWNER OF THE YEAR |
|
|
PINSKE
STABLES |
55 |
|
Caviart
Farms |
48 |
|
Crawford
Farms |
25 |
|
abstain |
2 |
|
DRIVER OF THE YEAR |
|
|
DEXTER
DUNN |
114 |
|
David
Miller |
13 |
|
abstain |
3 |
|
BREEDER OF THE YEAR |
|
|
BRITTANY
FARMS |
88 |
|
Order
By Stable |
30 |
|
Runthetable
Stables |
7 |
|
abstain |
5 |
|
TROTTING BROODMARE OF THE YEAR |
|
|
STEAMY
WINDOWS |
79 |
|
Margarita
Momma |
31 |
|
Dunk
The Donato |
8 |
|
Nantab |
7 |
|
abstain |
2 |
|
PACING BROODMARE OF THE YEAR |
|
|
JK
SHE'SALADY |
48 |
|
Great
Memories |
39 |
|
Beachy
Girl |
31 |
|
Swinging
Beauty |
8 |
|
abstain |
1 |
