First round of Railbird Recognition voting kicks off!
Hey fans, get your votes in between now and December 19 for Horseperson of the Year! We think you should have a voice in choosing your favorite people and moments in harness racing this year. The Railbird Awards, brought to you by USHWA and the USTA, are the only fan driven award in the industry, so head over to the homepage at ustrotting.com and cast your vote!
Here are the nominees for Horseperson of the Year:
Photo by Chris Gooden
-Dave Palone for eclipsing the world record in driving wins, previously held by German based Heinz Wewering. Palone passed Wewering on November 14 with win no. 16,754. Check out the story http://goo.gl/0woI1o
Photo via Fazoli’s
-Carl Howard for his continued support and this year, having Fazoli’s sponsor the Little Brown Jug and TV Broadcast. Read more http://goo.gl/I69icn
-Jack Darling, who rallied the troops on both sides of the border to fund televised broadcasting of major harness racing events in 2014, and then sprang into action again to help the widow and daughters of fellow horseman Mark Austin. http://goo.gl/AIQgOh
Photo by Mark Hall
-Jimmy Takter for winning his first Hambletonian as a driver with Trixton, and finishing second with trainee Nuncio. Check out the Hambo recap http://goo.gl/75FHRk
Photo by Mark Hall
-Nancy Johansson for training undefeated super-filly JK She’salady to a possible Horse of the Year season, including a Breeders Crown win. http://goo.gl/ZPrzbP
-Ron Burke for breaking the seasonal earnings record he set last year. With $28,055,659 as of Dec. 11, Burke could potentially eclipse thoroughbred trainer Todd Pletcher’s earnings record of $28,116,097 set in 2007. http://goo.gl/WL3QIX
Photo by Mark Hall
-Verlin Yoder, the Hero of Hoosier Park, for training and driving his ‘underdog’ trotter Natural Herbie to victories against the best trotters in the world in both the Vincennes Invitational and the International Preview. Plus, he got national press in the process! http://goo.gl/geb9Su
-Yannick Gingras for his storybook season, driving winners of more than $16.5 million, including a record-tying four Breeders Crown champions. http://goo.gl/REkICb
