A large turnout of nearly 400 horsemen, legislators and friends of racing turned out for the 15th annual Delaware Standardbred Owners Association (DSOA) Awards Dinner at the Dover Sheraton Hotel Friday, Jan. 13, 2012

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Mistress of Ceremony Heather Moffett presented a colourful, fun-filled video of high spots of her weekly harness program Post Parade on WBOC TV followed by highlights of the 2011 racing year featuring award-winning top horses of the Dover Downs and the Harrington Raceway meets. The banquet also featured a silent auction to benefit Horse Lovers United Inc., a not-for profit organization which provides a residence and care for retired horses. Following the awards presentation, the popular group Clarence Smith’s “On The Edge,” provided musical entertainment.

The coveted James T. Case Jr. DSOA Horizon Award (to a horseman making outstanding progress during the year) was presented to harness driver Montrell Teague, one of the sport’s rising stars.

This year, the DSOA gave out a total of $6,000 in scholarship awards. The recipients of the awards are Bethany Fleming, Delaware State University, majoring in Secondary Science Education; Brooke Gannon, a Nursing major at Wesley College; and Dianna Louder, a Psychology major at University of Delaware. The James T. Case Jr. Scholarship, in memory of the longtime DSOA President, was presented to Robert Sort Jr., Delaware Tech Community College major in Production Agriculture.

Dover Downs 2010-2011 honours were presented to the connections of the following horses:

Horse of the Meet – Cams Art
Trotter of the Meet – Second Hand News
Claimer of the Meet – Coletown USA

Harrington Raceway 2011 honourees were:

Horse of the Year – Eastwood Aurora N
Trotter of the Year - Tough Challenger
Claimer of the Year – Mack Hill

The Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) 2011 champions honoured included:

Two-Year-Old Colt Pacer - Shaving Mug
Two-Year-Old Filly Pacer – No Picnic
Two-Year-Old Colt Trotter - Windshield
Two-Year-Old Filly Trotter - Alleigh Girl

Three-Year-Old Colt Pacer - Three Martinis
Three-Year-Old Filly Pacer – Badlands Jenna
Three-Year-Old Colt Trotter - Mob Boss
Three-Year-Old Filly Trotter - Overnight Command

A Special Achievement Award was presented to Jack Ireland, veteran Wilmington News Journal harness racing reporter for his longtime coverage of racing.

(With files from Dover Downs)