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Wanda Polisseni is a Standardbred harness racing owner who has devoted much of her life to helping the unfortunate via foundations. Her latest venture involves support for retraining racehorses past their competitive years, giving them other ways to continue a productive life. For these reasons, she has been honored with the 2024 Stan Bergstein – Proximity Award, the highest honor voted on solely by the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA).
After growing up on a farm that boarded Standardbreds in Yates County, New York (southeast of Rochester), Wanda first became a Standardbred owner when she purchased six horses from a neighbor on New Year’s Eve 2003. She also campaigns Thoroughbred racehorses.
Two decades later, she remains a prominent owner and/or breeder of 100-plus racehorses competing under the Purple Haze Racing Stable banner. Named in memory of her late daughter’s favorite color and song, Purple Haze has expanded its scope in recent years.
In 2006, Polisseni was approached about supporting the fledgling Thoroughbred Adoption Center in Finger Lakes, N.Y. Her eyes were opened to the importance of aftercare for retired racehorses of both breeds.
Five years ago, Polisseni and Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program (PHSAP) Executive Director Betty Holt established the N.Y. Not-For-Profit Class “B” Corporation. PHSAP is based at Polisseni’s 105-acre farm in Oxford, N.Y and focuses on Standardbred rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming. The program is accredited by The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and the Standardbred Transition Alliance.
Polisseni has been active in charitable endeavors ever since her retirement from Paychex in 1986. Her late husband, Eugene, had worked with her to establish the successful payroll and human resources company.
Wanda has served on the boards of the FF Thompson Hospital Foundation, St. John Fisher College, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, NY State Troopers Foundation, Artisan Works, Mercy Center for the Aging, and the Rochester General Hospital Foundation. She co-founded the Polisseni Foundation, which assists Upstate New York organizations working in the areas of education, human services and civic improvement.
Polisseni was recognized with USHWA’s 2020 Dan Patch Unsung Hero Award. She has been celebrated for her involvement as a board member of The Finger Lakes Horsemen Benevolent Protective Association, the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program, and the Harness Horse Breeders of New York. In 2019, she accepted the USHWA Monticello-Goshen Chapter’s Cradle of the Trotter Award, acknowledging her achievements as a New York Standardbred breeder.
PHSAP has already placed 90 former harness racehorses in well-matched new homes. Now 85 years of age, harness racing ambassador Wanda Polisseni has a history of enriching the lives of those around her, both human and equine.
Wanda Polisseni will be recognized at the 2024 Dan Patch Awards Banquet, presented by Caesars Entertainment, which will honor the best of the best of harness racing, both human and equine. The Banquet will be held on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida.
Sponsorship information for the Banquet can be obtained from Shawn Wiles at swiles@rwcatskills.com; advertising in the souvenir Journal can be arranged through Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com; tickets through Judy Davis-Wilson, zoe8874@aol.com; for room reservations, click on this hotel link. More information about the Banquet and associated USHWA meetings that weekend will soon be available at www.usharnesswriters.com.
The United States Harness Writers Association is the leading group of communicators about the Standardbred horse. USHWA conducts the official annual balloting for the sport’s most prestigious honors: induction to the Hall of Fame and Communicators Hall of Fame, along with the selection of the Horse of the Year, Trotter and Pacer of the Year, and the leading divisional horses of each season.
Each year USHWA hosts the Dan Patch Awards Banquet, honoring the best and brightest performers in North American harness racing. This banquet is the Association’s principal source of funding, and with generous financial support from the harness racing and breeding industry, USHWA is able to host the banquet at a world-class facility in a world-class manner.
