Minnesota Harness Racing Inc. (MHRI) hosted its annual meeting and awards banquet honouring its 2024 divisional champions on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Running Aces Casino, Hotel and Racetrack. 

DP Freedoms Chrome, who captured the 2024 sophomore male trotting division crown, was also unanimously selected as the 2024 Minnesota Harness Horse of the Year by those in attendance at the MHRI annual meeting and awards banquet.

The talented son of For You Almostfree had a perfect Minnesota campaign last year, going 11-for-11 and lowering the track record for sophomore colts several times, eventually lowering the mark down to 1:54 on Sept. 15. He was bred by David Bontrager and is owned by Aimes Racing. For his starts in Minnesota, Elvin Zimmerman trains and James Gould handles the driving.

DP Freedoms Chrome is now undefeated in 15 career starts at Running Aces, and his 15 wins in a row is also a track record. His $169,068 in Minnesota earnings in 2024 is also a new state single-season record for earnings in the Minnesota program. 

After the conclusion of the Minnesota season, DP Freedoms Chrome also campaigned in Kentucky and Ohio and closed out his 2024 campaign with a total of 14 wins and overall earnings of $244,079.

SHS Southern Pride was honoured as the freshman trotting filly champion. The daughter of Southwind Flash was bred by Harlan Nolt and is owned by the partnership of Jay De Long and Terry Knothe while trained by Justin Anfinson. SHS Southern Pride had three wins from nine starts at Running Aces, including a career-best 2:01.1 victory on Night of Champions with regular driver Rick Magee in the bike. She was unbeaten in four starts in the month of September and completed the year with an overall total of six wins from 16 starts and total earnings of $106,463.

Peanutbutterfalcon captured the crown as the freshman male champion trotter for owner and breeder Jeralene Roland and trainer Dan Roland. The son of Quality Kemp racked up six wins at Running Aces and seven overall wins in 2024, taking his freshman mark in a close finish on Night of Champions in 2:01.3 with regular driver Jeff Hunt on board. His impressive freshman campaign resulted in earnings of $114,215.

Skoochs Valentine was named the freshman pacing filly division champion. She is a daughter of Karpathian Kid and is owned by her breeder Ron Rettig-Zucchi and trained by Lino Pacheco. Skoochs Valentine was a winner on Night of Champions in 1:59 and she took her freshman mark in 1:57.4 on Sept. 3. For both of her wins, Luke Plano was in the sulky. She raced exclusively at Running Aces and closed out her season with a summary of 13-2-1-5 and earnings of $78,940.

Swinging On By was honoured as the freshman male pacing division champion. He is a son of Karpathian Kid and was bred by Wolfswinkel Pacers. He is owned by the partnership of trainer Brett Ballinger and Darren Taylor. Swinging On By was a sharp winner on Night of Champions in 1:57.1 and took his freshman mark of 1:56.3 on Sept. 10. Dean Magee was his regular pilot and they teamed up for a total of six wins from 10 starts at Running Aces while earning $119,473.

Al Mar Puredelight took the sophomore trotting filly divisional honours. The daughter of Southwind Flash was bred by Al-Mar Farms and is owned by Jay and Eric De Long and Terry Knothe. Trained by Justin Anfinson, Al Mar Puredelight was a winner on Night of Champions in 1:59.1 and she took her sophomore mark of 1:58.3 on Aug. 4 with regular pilot Todd Warren in tow. She had an overall summary of 18-4-4-4 for 2024 with $95,220 earned.

Deja Vu Babyboo took top honours in the sophomore pacing filly division. She is a homebred daughter of Karpathian Kid owned by Van Otterloo Stables. Trained by Bob Lems while racing at Running Aces, Deja Vu Babyboo was a hard-charging winner on Night of Champions in 1:54.4 and took her sophomore mark of 1:53.1 on Sept. 9 with driver Nick Roland. She put together a seasonal summary of 19-6-5-4 with $127,909 in purse earnings.

El Parrandero Q was a repeat divisional winner as he secured the sophomore male pacing champion title in 2024. The son of Wind Me Up was bred by Fabiola Quevedo and is trained by Edwin Quevedo for owner Triple Q Stables. As a sophomore, he was victorious on Night of Champions in 1:55 and took his current career mark of 1:52.1 on Aug. 15 with regular driver Jacob Cutting aboard. El Parrandero Q had five wins and six other top three finishes from 21 starts, earning $113,018 for his 2024 campaign.

Wilamar Spark was named the champion aged trotting mare. A daughter of Southwind Flash, she is owned by breeder Jeanne Marquis and Jay De Long. Trained by Justin Anfinson, Wilamar Spark was a winner on Night of Champions in 1:57.3 and took her current career mark of 1:56.2 on Aug. 25 with regular driver Rick Magee in the sulky. She posted a seasonal summary of 20-9-3-3 with $82,529 banked for her five-year-old season. 

Bringoverthemoney was honoured as the aged male trotting champion. Katie Horvat trains and bred the Money Talks gelding, who is owned by Joshua Horvat. Bringoverthemoney was the defending champion in this division and was a winner on 2024 Night of Champions (in 1:56.3) for a record fifth straight year. He took his nine-year-old season's mark of 1:54.4 on July 7 with regular pilot Dean Magee at the controls. Bringoverthemoney compiled a record reading 22-8-2-2 in 2024 while earning $104,122.  He now has 46 career wins and is the richest Minnesota-sired trotter ever with his lifetime bankroll currently sitting at $470,147.

Fillister Photo was named the older pacing mare champion. A daughter of Easy Again bred by Dennis Bontrager, she is owned by Scorpio Stables and was trained at Running Aces by Bob Lems. Fillister Photo was a winner on Night of Champions in 1:55 and took her four-year-old seasonal mark at Aces in 1:54.1 on Aug. 8 with Todd Warren in the bike. She had two wins and seven top three finishes from 10 Aces starts. Her overall summary for 2024 was 22-4-2-2 with a total bankroll of $72,971. 

Antetokounmpo was awarded the aged pacing male title. The son of Easy Again was bred by Al-Mar Farms and is owned by Rick Magee. He was trained at Running Aces by Mikaela Del Giudice. Antetokounmpo was a winner on Night of Champions in 1:54.1 with Dean Magee in the bike, getting up by a head over stablemate SB Bodacious in a dramatic finish. He took a new career mark of 1:54 on Sept. 1 with driver Brady Jenson aboard while Rick Magee is his regular pilot. He had five wins at Aces from 17 starts. His overall summary for his six-year-old season was 27-7-3-4 with earnings totalling $87,137.

MHRI also honoured the 2024 county fairs award winners at the banquet.

Justin Anfinson continued a long winning streak in the category of Minnesota Fairs Trainer of the Year. Anfinson had 27 wins at the Minnesota county fairs in 2024, including more than 20 wins for owner/breeder Jay De Long. Anfinson also trained one of the top fair pacers, Delco Irene, as well as the top fair trotter, Wilamar Spark. Overall for Anfinson, 2024 was a very good year. He sent out 79 winners. His first million-dollar season helped him surpass the $5 million mark lifetime.

Brady Jenson took the title as Minnesota Fairs Driver of the Year with 25 wins at the fairs. One of the highlights of the 2024 fair campaign for Jenson came at Cannon Falls on Oct. 5, when he piloted seven winners on the afternoon. Jenson was also the leading driver at Running Aces and posted his first million-dollar season as a driver. 

Delco Irene and The Creature tied for Minnesota Fairs Pacer of the Year with 200 points each. 

Delco Irene (sired by Wind Me Up) blossomed into a very formidable contender in 2024 and she dominated at the fairs with four wins in four starts, including a very impressive 1:59 mile at Cannon Falls on Oct. 12. She took a sophomore mark of 1:52.2 at Running Aces and earned $110,812 on the season for owner/breeder Jay DeLong and trainer Justin Anfinson. 

The Creature (sired by Easy Again) posted an excellent campaign at the fairs with three wins and two seconds from five starts, including a very sharp 2:00.2 win at Cannon Falls on Oct. 5.  The Creature took his sophomore mark at Running Aces in 1:55.2 and earned a total of $55,322 in 2024 for owner Larry Jenson and trainer Brandon Jo Jenson. He was bred by Wolfswinkel Pacers. 

Wilamar Spark was also named the Minnesota Fairs Trotter of the Year. The daughter of Southwind Flash had a tremendous county fair campaign and racked up five wins from six starts over the fair ovals, including a dominating 2:00.3 victory at Cannon Falls on Oct. 5. 

Abby Olsen was recognized as the MHRI Caretaker of the Year award winner, an honour that is presented annually to the best of the best of caretakers/grooms based on work ethic, acquired skills and dedication during the Minnesota harness racing season. 

Olsen has worked as a groom for Roland Racing Stable at Running Aces for the past five years. She started in 2020 after reaching out and looking for an opportunity to learn and work with the horses. She wound up getting connected with Jessica Johnson and Nick Roland and began working as a helper in the barn. She had little experience but was very eager to learn and she had a great passion and love for horses.  Despite all of the distractions and abnormalities of the 'COVID season' in 2020, she worked hard and learned a lot that first summer and became enamored with the Standardbreds and the sport. That fall she also enrolled in college, majoring in equine studies. 

Olsen has returned to the Roland stable every summer since and has continued to learn and expand her horizons. She has become a highly trusted member of the team and has mastered not only general horse care, but also jogging horses, paddocking, putting horses away, managing the farm horses and much more. 

With all that she has learned and added to her skill set, she does not shy away from the basic things like cleaning stalls. In fact, when she has completed her work in the Roland stable, she often picks up extra stall work in other barns and grabs catch paddocks if the Roland stable has only one or two racing on a given night. 

In 2023, one of the Roland stable star horses (former Minnesota Horse of the Year) Giggle Monster retired from racing. Olsen asked if he could "go to college" with her, and so he did. He helped students learn how to train a horse accustomed to other disciplines to be "re-trained" to become a riding horse. Olsen also became Giggle Monster's new "forever person" in the process. And Abby graduated from UM Crookston in May of 2024. 

"Aside from working for us, Abby continues to seek out opportunities to continue to learn and become an even more well-rounded horse-woman," said Johnson. "This August, Abby accepted a coveted internship position at Diamond Creek Farms for yearling prep. She was in charge of preparing several yearlings to be sold at both the Kentucky and the Harrisburg sales. 

"Currently, Abby is in southern California working as a veterinary assistant at a prominent show facility. She is a person who strives to continue to learn, grow and mold herself into a well-rounded individual, and she is also an independent thinker when it comes to horses and horsemanship, and has tremendous ability to work in a team environment."

Johnson also shared that, "Abby is the type of caretaker everyone wants to have looking after their horses. She is kind, attentive and shows up with the same enthusiastic and studious attitude each day, but with even more drive to hustle and learn more."

(With files from Minnesota Harness Racing Inc.)