Ellen Taylor, executive director of the Harness Horse Youth Foundation, has announced the winners of the organization's annual scholarships. The $15,000 Gallo Blue Chip scholarship, sponsored by Martin Scharf, has been awarded to Michael Fahy, the son of William and Moira Fahy, of Washington, Pennsylvania; while Lambertville, New Jersey's Emily Grace Murphy, the daughter of Patti and Joseph Murphy, has been named winner of the $2,500 Curt Greene Memorial Scholarship.

Fahy, whose parents campaign a stable at the Meadows, recently graduated from Trinity High School in Washington. Michael ranked in the top ten in his class with a 3.98 GPA. He is attending Marietta College in Ohio, where he will double major in International Business and Asian Studies. At Trinity, he was a percussionist with varied responsibilities within the instrumental music department. He also was president of the National Honor Society and Captain of the Mock Trial team at Trinity. He is the student representative to the Trinity Area School District School Board and belongs to 4H, breeding rabbits.

"This is an incredibly generous way for Martin Scharf to give back to the sport and I am honoured and eternally grateful for the opportunity," said Fahy, who will attend a formal presentation with Scharf later this year.

For Emily Grace Murphy, "Harness racing has always been a major part of my life and I am really thankful to have the opportunity to continue my education with the assistance of the sport."

Murphy plans to attend Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where she plans to study Animal Behaviour and Ecology and Conservation. Her GPA was 4.2 and she is a former winner of the Marie Hill Youth Writing Contest. Her photography, mostly of standardbreds, has won numerous awards and competitions. She recently created a documentary on the New Jersey racing industry, which can be viewed below.

Murphy has been surrounded by the harness racing industry her whole life, as her mother, Patti, is the farm manager at Hanover Shoe Farms of New Jersey.

(With files from the HHYF)