History

At the 1997 O'Brien Awards a very special award for Canadian harness racing was introduced. It was The Cam Fella Award and fittingly the inaugural winner was Cam Fella. It is a rare horse who is a champion, but to be one three times - on the racetrack, as a stallion and an ambassador as Cam was, is an incredible feat.

Criteria

The Cam Fella Award will be given to recognize extreme effort and dedication to Canadian harness racing by an individual or group who through their efforts have displayed some of those same qualities that made Cam Fella one of the greatest names in harness racing. The establishment of the Cam Fella Award is the harness racing industry's way of ensuring that Cam's unparalleled contributions to the sport are never forgotten.

The Cam Fella Award is to honour recent extreme meritorious service to the Canadian harness racing industry.

Voting Process

A National Election Committee of 16 representatives of the Standardbred community vote by secret ballot on those nominees put forward by the Nominating Committee. A candidate must receive 75% of the yes votes to win the award. There is no restriction upon nominees – they can be individuals, a group or organization, a horse, etc. The winner of the Cam Fella award will be presented with their award at the annual O'Brien Awards.

Past Winners

1997 - Cam Fella

2000 - The Honourable Michael D. Harris

2003 - The Honourable Mitchell Murphy

2004 - Armstrong Bros. Farm

2005 - Dr. David C. Reid

2006 - Ralph Klein

2007 - Ann Curran

2008 - Somebeachsomewhere

2009 - Ross Galbraith

2010 - Admirals Express

2015 - Bill Andrew

2019 - Anthony MacDonald

2022 - Bulldog Hanover

2023 - Hon. Dennis King