Horsemen gathered in the capital city of New Brunswick on Saturday evening to honour their top performers of 2009 at the Fredericton Motor Inn, with All Star Dragon named

Horse of the Year at the local oval following a season which included a triumph in the Walter Dale Memorial in 1:57.

Owned by Stacy and Bun Gay and Ian Donald, All Star Dragon also won the inaugural Horse Racing New Brunswick Invitational at Saint John's Exhibition Park Raceway. He was also productive in the Chippin Memorial at Fredericton and the McCain Memorial at Woodstock's Connell Park.

Stacy Gay was also Trainer of the Year at Fredericton, putting together an average of over .400. Stephen Trites earned Driver of the Year credentials with 27 victories at Fredericton Raceway.

The Most Improved Horse was Ralph Harvey's Seven Signs. The four-year-old was undefeated Exhibition Week with three wins and enjoyed five wins throughout the campaign.

The top Older Horse was the Mike Campbell trained Igoddago. The veteran pacer with 59 career victories is owned by Campbell and partners Liz Clark and Ron Roy.

This year's racing season is slated to open on Thursday, May 21.

(HRNB)