2021 O’Brien Award winners announced

Standardbred Canada announced the winners of the 2021 O’Brien Awards, which honour Canada’s best in harness racing over the past season, during a Virtual Gala videostreamed on standardbredcanada.ca on Sunday, February 6.

This year marked the 33rd edition of the O’Brien Awards, named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman and member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

The awards gala was held virtually due to the COVID restrictions and lockdown in Ontario. Some of the big winners on the night included Millar Farms who took home three O’Brien trophies, including the Armstrong Breeder of the Year; Desperate Man who won both his division and the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year title; Richard Moreau who took home a record ninth consecutive trophy in the Trainer of the Year Category; owner Brad Grant who took home two O’Brien bronzes; Luc Blais who won his first O’Brien Award of Horsemanship and James MacDonald who took home the inaugural Keith Waples Driver of the Year Award.

The 2021 season was a tremendously productive and profitable one for Millar Farms of Stouffville, Ont., and they were rewarded with three O’Brien trophies. Millar’s homebreds Prohibition Legal and Betterhavemymoney were divisional winners, and to top it off, Millar Farms was the winner of the Armstrong Breeder of the Year Award. Their 26 starters posted 67 victories and eclipsed $2 million in earnings, led by their O’Brien winners along with O’Brien finalist Silver Label, and top performers Powertrain and Aviator.

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