Last month the ‘I Love Canadian Harness Racing’ fan club reached out to you, the heart of harness racing, in search of a special harness racing ambassador.

Many of our industry participants go out of their way on a regular basis to generate awareness and interest in the sport, and are in fact acting as ambassadors.

These ambassadors represent the ‘heart of harness racing.’ They are passionate about the people and horses in harness racing, they represent the industry daily, and it becomes second nature to them because it is part of the fabric of their lives. They dedicate their free time to the sport, and work tirelessly to promote the sport and introduce new people to racing.

We received many entries, but only one candidate received multiple submissions on his behalf. That individual, Garnet Barnsdale, was unanimously voted the 2013 I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club Ambassador.

Barnsdale, a resident of Toronto, Ont., is known throughout the industry from coast to coast. In the summer he can be found trackside at Mohawk every Saturday night. He proposed to his girlfriend (now wife) trackside at Mohawk. He’s a major player in the social media world promoting horse racing events, sparking conversation and keeping fans in the loop. He freelances for several industry publications and also hosts an online radio show dedicated to harness racing and handicapping that attracts around 3,000 listeners. He does a tremendous job engaging newcomers.

Barnsdale graduated from the Humber College School of Journalism and is a lifelong race fan and handicapper that has been watching and wagering on harness racing for more than 30 years. He was a staff writer for The Standardbred magazine in the late '80s.

“This is a man who loves everything about harness racing! We need more people like him out there positively promoting the industry,” Lori Ferguson wrote in her letter about Barnsdale.

“His love of harness racing is infectious. Our son loves sitting by the rail cheering on the horses and drivers. Garnet tirelessly spends his free time on Twitter, Facebook and various blogs positively promoting harness racing and handicapping.,” Kim Barnsdale wrote.

The fan club extends its congratulations to Garnet and would like to personally thank him for all of the work he does in promoting Canadian harness racing. Garnet will receive a $100 gift card to a racetrack of his choice; a special presentation will be made in his honour, and he will also receive a Fan Club swag package valued at $50.

Thank-you to all other fan club members that submitted stories about the special people in their lives that make harness racing in Canada the incredible industry and community that it is.

A few excerpts from some of the submissions on Garnet’s behalf appear below.

Excerpt from Kim Barnsdale’s submission:

Harness racing is forever entwined in our family’s lives because of his keen interest. Many special memories have been created for our family at Ontario racetracks. Our first date was at Mohawk on September 26, 1998. Ten years later, Garnet proposed to me July 26, 2008 on our family Saturday evening at the ‘Hawk.’ His love of harness racing is infectious. Our son loves sitting by the rail cheering on the horses and drivers. Garnet tirelessly spends his free time on Twitter, Facebook and various blogs positively promoting harness racing and handicapping. His North American Harness Update online radio show was initiated and is co-hosted by Garnet to raise more awareness for standardbred racing and sharing handicapping knowledge to the public. Also, as a freelancer, Garnet has written for various publications and his articles written in ‘Down The Stretch’ newspaper always promote the best of harness racing in Ontario. Garnet is always willing to answer questions from newcomers to the sport, to encourage interest, and is a wealth of information on the history of harness racing on Ontario.

Excerpt from Lori Ferguson’s letter:

Garnet is a friendly and outgoing person and is passionate about sharing his knowledge of harness racing. As an avid social networker on Twitter and Facebook, where I was first introduced to Garnet, he likes to promote track events, special races, share racing photos and share handicapping tips.

This is a man that loves everything about harness racing! We need more people like him out there positively promoting the industry, the people in the industry and of course the horses in the industry!