PEISHOA President Tom Clarke presents
co-owners Ralph Annear,left, and Steven Sorrie,right, with the Trotter of the
Year award for Maple Leaf Spirit.(Bo Ford photo)
By Bo Ford
Three-year-old trotter Maple Leaf Spirit stole the
show Saturday night at the P.E.I Horse Standardbred Horse Owners Association
year end awards at the Dutch Inn in Cornwall.
The colt took home three awards including three-year-old
Trotting Filly, Trotter of the year and Horse of the Year.
The filly co-owned
by Ralph Annear and Steven Sorrie, trained by Annear, enjoyed a one-of-a-kind
season, from 13 starts in the Maritimes the filly won 11 of those and finished second
in her other two starts producing over $40,000 in the process.
Charlottetown`s top driver in 2011, Marc Campbell,
finished off his season with a bang at the awards banquet taking home three
awards.
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| Marc Campbell receives his award for Leading Dash Winner from banquet committee chair Betty Gregan,left, and guest speaker Mark Ford,right.(Bo Ford photo) |
Campbell said it was a great way to end off a great
season but said there will be room for improvement this season.
“Everybody in this game will tell you there is
always room for improvement, but I love seeing my owners get trophies, and I
like getting them myself.”
While most people know Campbell for his ability to
drive, he also had a good season as a trainer, having seven horses from his
stable nominated for awards.
His trainee
Malabrigo was the only one to win an award receiving two-year-old Pacing Filly.
Owned by Greenoaks Farms, the award capped off a bitter sweet for both Campbell
and The Greenoakes Farms.
“She fought through some adversity to win some big
races. Marc did a great job with the filly, we all really happy,” said Angus
Buntain from Greenoakes Farms.
As for Campbell he said he couldn’t have had the year he did all on his own.
As for Campbell he said he couldn’t have had the year he did all on his own.
“I have good workers, I try and keep my workers
young. That way they want to work and they’ll work even harder when were
winning. They know who they are and I thank them for what they do.”
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| Leading Percentage Trainer Jackie Matheson receives his award for Leading Percentage Trainer from Minister responsible for harness racing on P.E.I Wes Sheridan,left, and Guest Speaker Mark Ford,right. (Bo Ford photo) |
“It’s nice to win, but this is one of those awards
that goes out to the whole barn, everyone in our barn was a part of this right
from the horses, the grooms, the owners and the drivers.”
The other multiple award winner went to Charloettes
Maggie, a three-year-old filly owned by Shaun MacIsaac and trained by Tom
Weatherbie the filly made 16 starts in the Maritimes winning 12 of those and
banking over $35,000. She won the three-year-old-filly Pacer and the Pacer of
the Year awards.
A crowd of over 300 packed the Dutch Inn listened to
guest speaker Mark Ford Answer a few questions and give his insight on the
state of the harness racing industry.
“It`s very refreshing to come to P.E.I. for the enthusiasm.
Maybe there isn’t as much money here as other places, but the people actually
enjoy racing. It`s a real breath of fresh air.’’
A winner of over $40 million in earnings and the
youngest to ever accomplish the feat is staying positive about his situation in
New York.
“Everybody wants to be a neigh sayer, it’s terrible,
it’s terrible. It has never been better for me, we race for money than I’ve
ever raced for and probably the generation before me. It’s very good right now.”
Ford said he thinks the best is yet to come,
especially with a plan to bring gaming to the Meadowlands in New Jersey.
“It would be money like we’ve never seen before.”
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