The Cape Breton Horse Owner Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, April 17 at the Ashby Legion in Sydney, N.S.

Once again the winningest horse at Northside Downs in 2025 with 16 seasonal victories, Hugh Heff was named 2025 Northside Downs Horse of the Year. The son of Betterthancheddar - Danika Patrix is trained by Dana Getto for owners Randy Getto of New Waterford, Susan MacSween of River Ryan and Wayne Hardy of Sydney, N.S. The five-year-old gelding posted a summary of 16-4-3 from 25 seasonal starts.

Below is a list of all the winners.

Top UDRS Driver, 100+ Starts - Mark Pezzarello

Top UDRS Driver, 50-99 Starts - Martin Bates 

Top UDRS Driver, 15-49 Starts - Richie Baryluk 

Leading Driver by Wins - Mark Pezzarello

Top UTRS Trainer, 50+ Starts - Dana Getto 

Top UTRS Trainer, 25-49 Starts - Leonard MacLellan

Top UTRS Trainer15-24 Starts - Peter MacKinnon

Leading Trainer by Wins - Ardon Mofford

Junior Owner Award - Caleb MacNeil

Lifetime Achievement Award - Colin Kelly

Senior Groom Awards - Bernie Gillis, Ken Lewis

Junior Groom Awards - Oliver Mofford, Sierra Hynes

Gwen Struthers Memorial Award - Diane Collins

Northside Downs President’s Award - Shane Ryan

Senior Horseman Award - Lawrence Snow

Outstanding Achievement - Donnie Rankin

Top Two-Year-Old Colt - Darbies Fancy 

Top Two-Year-Old Filly - Effie May Cay

Top Three-Year-Old Colt - Spicysonofabeach

Top Three-Year-Old Filly - Red Dirt Legacy

Most Wins at Northside - Hugh Heff

Northside Horse of the Year - Hugh Heff

Northside Mare of the Year - Red Rum She Wrote

Northside Iron Horse of the Year - Thunder Alley

Northside Most Improved Horse - Ranked Contender

Northside Fastest Mile - Mappos Lion

Hall of Fame Induction - Angus Gillis

The 2026 season of harness racing at Northside Downs is set to commence on Saturday, May 9.

(Standardbred Canada; photo of Hugh Heff winning at Northside)