The United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) and Diamond Creek Farm would like to invite all attendees to the upcoming Dan Patch Awards weekend at Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida to an outdoor cocktail reception on Saturday, Feb. 24. The 90-minute reception will be on the balcony overlooking the hotel’s pool beginning at 6 p.m.

“I can’t thank Adam Bowden and everyone at Diamond Creek Farm enough for their sponsorship of this cocktail reception that will kick off a great weekend of honouring harness racing’s best humans and equines of last year,” said USHWA president Barry Lefkowitz. “We are excited to add the Diamond Creek Farm cocktail reception to a great two days of fun and excitement, culminating in the Dan Patch Awards dinner, presented by Caesars Entertainment, on Sunday night.

“We will have an open bar with a selection of light appetizers and hope that everybody can join in on this exciting new event. The reception is very casual and the timing still allows attendees to make dinner plans, whether at one of Rosen Centre’s fine restaurants or one of the many establishments located nearby on International Drive.”

As a special bonus, Heather Vitale will be part of the crowd at Saturday night’s pool balcony reception and fans can watch some of her mingling with the attendees as she will broadcast live on her Facebook page. 

Attendees will receive further information about the weekend’s activities in a welcome envelope that will be handed out upon check-in at Rosen Centre. Any horsepeople who are wintering in the area and would like to join in for the Diamond Creek reception may do so by simply showing up and receiving a wristband at the check-in table.

Tickets for the Dan Patch Awards banquet are $200. There is also a reduced-priced menu option for children 12 and under. Dinner tickets can be ordered until Feb. 19 by contacting Judy Davis-Wilson at [email protected] or 302-359-3630 or Liz Cheesman at [email protected]. For a dinner ticket form, click here.

(United States Harness Writers Association)