The Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) and Batavia Downs has announced that driver Kyle Swift will receive the 2023 Rising Star Award during the Night of Distinction awards presentation that will be held at Batavia Downs on Saturday, Dec. 9.

After driving at fairs and in qualifiers for two years, 18-year-old Swift earned his provisional license in June of this year and has really become a presence on the harness racing scene in western New York ever since. After scoring his first pari-mutuel win with Big Place only a month later, Swift emerged as one of the top drivers at the current Batavia meet.

In 219 starts, Swift has won 14 races, finished second 26 times and third another 27 times, which were numbers good enough to put him on the top 10 list among all drivers racing at Batavia this meet. And his $151,294 in purses from those starts has him seated 13th for total bank.

Overall this year, Swift has 17 wins 30 seconds and 31 thirds with $181,130 in earnings.  

Swift is a third generation horseman on both sides of his family. His father Ray Fisher Jr. has been a leading reinsman at Batavia for years and is approaching 5,000 career driving wins while his mother Ryan Swift annually finishes among the best trainers competing in western New York.

Swift is an energetic and enthusiastic personality that is 100 per cent committed to harness racing and who works very hard to improve his skills on a daily basis. His steadily rising numbers and increased multiple listings on the daily draw are a testament to that and prove why he was chosen to receive this award.

The Night of Distinction card on Saturday, Nov. 9 has a 6 p.m. post and all the awards will be presented trackside in the winner’s circle between the races.

(USHWA)