International Equine Network with Scott Miller and co-host Steve Wolf and guest Adriano Sorella, Owner

FLYING TURNS – Thursday, December 26, 2019

Horse(s) of the Year Dan Patch Awards

It is that time of the year that members in good standing of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) and many of the race secretaries in the USA have voted for the harness racing horse of the year honors.

USHWA announces all of the 12 divisional winning trotters and pacers and then holds off on announcing the Trotter, Pacer, and Harness Horse of the Year winners until late February at the Dan Patch Awards Banquet that is being held Sunday, February 23 at the Rosen Shingle Creek, a five-star resort in Orlando, FL.

The awards dinner will be broadcast live via the USTA that evening.

Both the trotters and pacers have six divisional winners, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds and older mare/horse divisions.

Trotters:

2yo colt – Amigo Hall, El Ideal and Real Cool Sam

2yo filly – Hypnotic AM, Sister Sledge, Senorita Rita, Rock Swan and Ramona Hill

3yo colt – Forbidden Trade, Gimpanzee, Greenshoe

3yo filly – Evident Beauty, Millies Possesion, When Dovescry

Older Mare – Atlanta vs Manchego

Older Horse – Guardian Angel AS, Six Pack, Zacon Gio

Pacers:

2yo colt – Elver Hanover, Papi Rob Hanover, Tall Dark Stranger

2yo filly – JK First Lady, Lyons Sentinel

3yo colt – Bettor’s Wish

3yo Filly – Warrawee Ubeaut

Older Mare – Shartin N

Older Pacer – Lather Up vs McWicked

But who will be Trotter, Pacer and Harness Horse of the Year?

Then there are the Human and Broodmare awards. We will not break them all down but a few categories have multiple choices to vote for.

Trainer of the Year: Tony Alanga, Ron Burke, Marcus Melander

Driver of the Year: Dexter Dunn, Brian Sears, Tim Tetrick

Rising Star: Mitchel Cushing, Drew Monti, Austin Siegleman

International Racing Season

While harness racing action slows down during the winter months in North America, the action really heats up in Europe.

France may well be the richest harness racing country in the world in both purses and money wagered. That may be hard for some to understand but it is true. And currently in France is some of the richest racing of the year, all held during the winter months.

All their races are for trotters only, no pacers (except in the UK and Ireland who race both trotters and pacers) but France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Russia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Belgium only race trotters.

Coming up at the end of January is what may well be the richest and perhaps most prestigious of all races, the Prix d’Amerique. It is only for older trotters, you must be invited to compete or win your way in by finishing 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd in some major stakes in December and early January in Paris, France. The Prix d’Amerique stake races for a purse of 1 million euros or $1.2 million US. There are 18 horses in the race, you begin from a “standing” start of sorts, the distance of the race is just over 1.5 miles and you need to race up and down a small hill at one point in the race.

Now that is racing!

The Prix D’Amerique takes place at the Hippodrome Pari-Vincennes, which is the highest purse track in all of harness racing. They only race three days a week, but usually there are $100,000 races every weekend and they also have monte or racing under saddle events for the same purses. Some trotters win pulling a sulky and having a jockey on their backs.

Unlike in the USA when a horse goes off stride or makes a break as they say, you can get the horse back trotting and re-enter the race, in Europe if you make a break, you are disqualified, even if it is not your fault, you are still disqualified.

Heading to Paris for the big race

IEN’s own Steve Wolf is going to Paris, France at the end of January for the week long festivities leading to the Prix d’Amerique on January 26. Steve is also the Operations Director for Harnesslink, and he is taking a Team of Media people to Paris to cover all the activities. Harnesslink is preparing to bring full media coverage of the Prix d’Amerique Week via stories, photographs and live interviews of all the events taking place.

Joining Steve in Paris will be Heather Vitale, perhaps harness racing’s top social media interviewer who has been covering racing events world-wide and will now add the Prix d’Amerique to her bucket-list.

Flying to Paris from Scotland will be photographer/video professional Sarah Thomas, who this past year won the World Trotting Conference Media Award for Video/Film. She will be capturing all the events in Paris via her photography eye.

And helping Team Harnesslink to see all the sights, sounds and happening during Prix d’Amerique Week is renowned Swedish/French trainer Anders Lindqvst. He will also assist with any translations needed.

Steve and Heather will not be the only ones from the USA coming to see the Prix d’Amerique race day. Also flying over will be Yannick Gingras, Andy McCarthy, Nancy Takter, Julie and Andy Miller, Chris Ryder, Nick Surick and Dexter Dunn.

Putting his money where his mouth is!

Harness racing owner Adriano Sorella from Ontario, Canada deserves a mention on Flying Turns for his recent marketing promotion for his new stallion, the top pacer Jimmy Freight. Jimmy Freight is standing his first season at stud at Winbak Farm.

Well, Sorella being a top-notch marketing guy, has come to an agreement with Woodbine Entertainment Group that runs Mohawk Raceway, to host the stakes race. Everyone that breeds to Jimmy Freight, the resulting foals will automatically be the only ones eligible for a $100,000 stake race at age 2. These foals will need to make at least two starts at Mohawk to be eligible for the stake and if more than ten horses are entered, then the top ten money winners will get into the stakes race.

Harness Racing Hall of Fame

Not only at the USHWA Dan Patch Awards Banquet in Orlando at the end of February will they announce the Trotter, Pacer and Harness Horse of the Year winners, but the USHWA membership, at their annual meeting, will vote to see whom will be on the ballot for Communicator Hall of Fame induction.

The Orlando soiree will also be introduction of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, Tom Charters, Jeff Gural, Bill Popfinger and Tim Tetrick. Plus, Communicators Hall of Fame new members Phil Pikelny and Ken Weingartner.

The Hall of Fame, located in Goshen, NY, is one of the most spectacular places to ever visit, of course, for the harness racing fan. The sights, sounds, events are all mesmerizing for the Standardbred purist. You can try and call a race just like Roger Huston, sit in the harness racing simulator and feel like you are driving a world champion race horse.

The displays throughout the entire museum are superb and their gift shop has everything for the harness racing fan.

Who is training at Sunshine Meadows this winter?

With us as always is Scott Miller, the man who has the inside track on what takes place 24 hours a day at Sunshine Meadows Equestrian Center.

Let’s talk about the training colony at Sunshine Meadows this season. Who’s returned and who’s knew this year?

And let’s remind everyone that admission to Sunshine Meadows is always free. The facility encourages people to come out and see the young horses train at trotting and pacing. Folks can also stop by the training rings and watch people train and work out their horses over the many jumps or practice dressage in front of the huge mirrored ring.

On The Deck is officially opening for the season

The crew at On The Deck at Sunshine Meadows is officially opening on Saturday, January 4. On The Deck was conceived by Frank Anntonacci Stable, Myron Bell and Tony Alagna. The Deck is right on the finish line of Sunshine Meadows one-mile track. These horsemen had the battered deck replaced and built bigger, bought comfortable outdoor couches and chairs so the owners and guests could have a nice spot to watch their horses train.

Then came Murray Brown and the breakfast food, every Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm, bagels, cream cheese, coffee juice and other assorted noshes. Now there is even a small set of bleachers as the crowds grow every year. Others have followed suite and fixed up their decks including Casie Coleman Hearlty and ______________________?

Then last year Jeff Bell arranged for and put together a wonderful Sunshine Meadows Stable Roster of all the horses in each stable and their lineage, plus each horse gets a saddle pad with their number on it so everyone can look up that horse when they see it on the track.

As part of the “official” opening day for On The Deck. Bell has once again put together the stable roster and it will be available, free of charge, to everyone that comes to the Deck.

Jazmin Arnold named USHWA Amateur Driver of the Year

Jazmin Arnold of Ohio was unanimously named the USHWA Dan Patch Amateur Driver of the Year. She now joins Hannah Miller as only the second woman to earn this prestigious harness racing honor.

In her first full season driving harness horses, to say that the diminutive miss posted excellent numbers would be a gross understatement. Currently with 59 trips to post Jazmin has 23 wins, 10 seconds and five thirds for a spectacular .512 UDR.