"We're going to pay him back up into the Maple Leaf Trot, and we're going to nominate him to the Breeders Crown and hopefully give him a little bit of a break when the weather gets hot and get him ready for the end of the season."

Trot Insider tracked down Pat Hudon after the popular horseman picked up his first trophy for trotting horse Odds On Amethyst at the 2017 O'Brien Awards Black Tie Gala on Saturday, February 3 in Mississauga, Ont.

The durable Odds On Amethyst, was voted Canada's Older Trotting Horse of the Year for 2017. The son of Muscle Hill scored 11 wins and more than $232,000 in earnings, primarily competing in the preferred and free-for-all trotting ranks.

This is the sixth in a series of several post-event video interviews with O'Brien Award finalists, sponsored by Horse Racing Alberta.

To view the full list of 2017 O'Brien Awards winners, click here.