Ohio Chapter USHWA announces award winners

The Ohio Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association will hand out its annual harness racing awards at the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association banquet on Saturday, January 15 at the Polaris Hilton Hotel in Columbus.

The Ohio Chapter will honor Steve Carter as the recipient of the Winner’s Circle Award for the Ohioan who has achieved outstanding accomplishments in the past year; Justin Irvine as the Peter Haughton Memorial Award winner as the young Ohioan who is an “up-and-coming” star among harness horsemen; Richard Neville into the Immortal Hall of Fame; Aquatic Yankee into the Standardbred Hall of Fame; and Dr. Dan Wilson as the winner of the Rambling Willie Award for the Ohioan who has done the most for harness racing over the past two decades.

Carter recorded 56 training wins and $1.4 million in earnings this season. He was the conditioner of the world champion Charlie May, who made Ohio proud by winning the Matron, the Bluegrass and the Milstein Memorial. He was also gracious in the narrow defeats in the Breeders Crown, Messenger Final, Ohio Sire Stake Final and the Meadowlands Pace.

Irvine is a 20-year-old resident of Aurora, Ohio. He enjoyed a terrific 2021 season with 118 wins and over $650,000 in purse earnings and a .248 driver’s rating.

Neville was a well-known farrier of 60 years. The list of luminaries Neville shared his skills with are long and impressive with the likes of Hall of Famers Delvin Miller, Stanley Dancer, Howard Beissinger, George Sholty, Gene Reigle and Joe O’Brien. While the number of equine stars he shod are too numerous to list, it includes Albatross, Super Bowl, Delmonica Hanover, Most Happy Fella, Sonsam, French Chef, Happy Motoring and Western Hanover – earning a nickname of “Shoer to the Stars.” He passed away at the age of 75 on March 24, 2020.

Aquatic Yankee is the daughter of Cambest and Yankee Attraction. During her four-year racing career, she recorded 26 wins in her 80 career starts and earned more than $750,000. As a broodmare, Aquatic Yankee has produced five foals that have earned $200,000 or more. She is the dam of Sectionline Bigry, the two-time aged pacer of the year in Ohio and earner of nearly $700 thousand.

Dr. Wilson graduated from the Ohio State University school of Veterinary Medicine in 1975. He focused his practice on Northfield Park and the standardbred industry in Northeast Ohio. He was awarded the Ohio Veterinarian Medical Association Distinguished Service Award in 2002 and was enshrined into the Northfield Park Wall of Fame in 2014. Dr. Wilson retired in the summer of 2021.

by Jay Wolf, for the Ohio Chapter of USHWA