A full house of more than 400 horsemen, legislators and friends of racing turned out for the 13th annual Delaware Standardbred Owners Association (DSOA) Awards Dinner at the Dover Sheraton Hotel Friday, January 8, 2010
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Mistress of Ceremony Heather Moffett presented a colourful, fun-filled video of 2009 season highlights from her popular weekly half-hour Sunday morning program on WBOC-TV 16 plus video highlights of the 2009-racing year and of the award-winning Dover Downs and the Harrington Raceway horses.
In addition to leading horsemen, Delaware's top legislative executives were in attendance. The list included Delaware Assistant Secretary of Revenue & Finance Tommy Cook and State Senators Nancy Cook and Gary Simpson and State Legislative Representatives Mike Barbieri, Gerald Brady, Bill Carson, John Kawalko, Ruth Briggs-King, Biff Lee, Bobby Outten, Michael Ramone, Daryl Scott and Bob Walls. Among the attendees were Delaware Harness Racing Commission Administrator Hugh Gallagher, Commission Chair Beth Steele and commission member Breezy Brown. Also present were USTA District Directors, Russell MacKinnon and Dr. William Moffett, the DSOA board of directors plus several members of the media.
DSOA 2009 Award Winners
The coveted DSOA Horizon Award (to a horseman making outstanding progress during year) was presented to trainer Tim Crissman, who has continued to move up the standings for race wins and money earned by his stable.
Again this year, $6,000 in DSOA Scholarships were awarded. Recipients of $2,000 each are Christian Billie, who attends Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - an engineering major, Wade Marsh a student at Washington and Lee University - majoring in Political Science and Religion; and Diane Lauder of the University of Delaware, a psychology major.
Dover Downs 2008-09 Meet
Horse of the Meet - Apache Dame
Trotter of the Meet - Starsel
Claimer of the Meet - Dragons Blood
Harrington Raceway 2009 Season
Horse of the Year - Artciano
Trotter of the Year - Fivedollarsforsox and Allmar Surprise
Claimer of the Year - In The Blue Corner
A Special Achievement Award was presented to Delaware legislator Clifford "Biff" Lee, a longtime supporter of Delaware harness racing.
Following awards presentation, the popular group Clarence Smith's "On The Edge," provided musical entertainment for the overflow-dancing crowd.
(Dover Downs)