Admirals Express Voted 2010 Cam Fella Award Recipient

Standardbred Canada is pleased to announce that Admirals Express has been voted the 2010 recipient of the Cam Fella Award

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The Cam Fella Award, which recognizes extreme recent meritorious service to the Canadian harness racing industry, will be presented to the connections of Admirals Express, fondly known as the ‘The Grey Gladiator,’ at the annual O'Brien Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, Ont.

‘The Admiral’ was owned by Ed and Cheryl Sayfie and Laurel and Gary Gust of Michigan. He was trained by Mike Hales and driven in most of his races by Paul MacDonell.

Admirals Express enthralled the racing industry and fans with his on-track performances, but his connection to fans and horsepeople transcended his ability on the racetrack. His indomitable spirit, the emotion he evoked, and the excitement he stirred within us when he raced made The Admiral unique and somewhat of an icon within the Canadian harness racing industry.

His performances on the racetrack were superb. They included 353 starts, 86 wins, 14 sub-1:50 wins and $2.1 million in purse earnings.

Purchased as a yearling for a mere $3,700, Admirals Express raced from 1998 through early 2010 with a brief retirement in late 2006. He was voted Canada’s Horse of the Year and Older Pacing Horse of the Year in 2005. The Grey Gladiator out-earned, out-paced and out-fought his free-for-all foes to become one of the most popular and beloved horses in Canada.

Following his racing career, The Grey Gladiator was reunited with his former caretaker, Wellington Charles, and travelled to horse shows and racetracks throughout Ontario, drawing large crowds everywhere he went, acting as a Goodwill Ambassador for harness racing.

Trot editor Darryl Kaplan described the love affair that the racing industry had with The Admiral in the November 2010 issue, “To us, what we saw in Admirals Express was who we strive to be. He was courageous, unwavering, and a little bit flashy. He was a horse who demanded respect, and in return offered each of us more than we could ever ask of him.”

On October 19, Admirals Express was euthanized after sustaining a serious leg injury. When the story of his passing was reported on standardbredcanada.ca it was viewed an amazing 15,463 times and commented on by readers 66 times. There was an unprecedented outpouring of emotion from the industry.

Admirals Express is the third horse to win the coveted Cam Fella Award. Cam Fella was the first recipient. Somebeachsomewhere won the award in 2008.

Standardbred Canada established the Cam Fella Award in 1997, and fittingly its namesake was the first recipient, acknowledging ‘Cam's unparalleled contributions to the sport of harness racing. Past Winners of the Cam Fella Award include the Honourable Michael D. Harris, former Premier of the Province of Ontario (2000), Minister Mitchell Murphy, Provincial Treasurer for the Province of Prince Edward Island and formerly the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (2003), Armstrong Bros. Farms (2004), Dr. David C. Reid, former Chair of Horse Racing Alberta (2005), Ralph Klein, former Premier of the Province of Alberta (2006), Ann Curran, creator and co-ordinator of the Mildred Williams International Driving Series (2007), the incredible pacing horse that reenergized harness racing, Somebeachsomewhere (2008), and Ross Galbraith, former Chair of the New Brunswick Horse Racing Industry Association (2009).

A national committee of 16 representing the standardbred community vote by secret ballot to determine the Cam Fella Award winner. A winner must receive a majority of the votes.

Canadian-owned, trained and driven, Cam Fella was an outstanding racehorse in the early 1980s who won 56 races, over $2-million in purse money and two consecutive Horse of the Year titles in North America. As a stallion, Cam sired numerous World Champions and horses with earnings in excess of $106-million. Unfortunately Cam suffered from testicular cancer and in early 1997, was retired from breeding. He died in May of 2001 at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he had lived for several years and served as an outstanding ambassador of the standardbred breed.

The creation of the Cam Fella Award was the harness racing industry's way of ensuring that Cam's contribution to the sport is never forgotten.