The upstate New York chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association has announced that it will be honouring Jami Chatt with its Unsung Hero Award.

Chatt is a fourth-generation horsewoman and is the granddaughter of longtime western New York driving favourite Fred Haslip. She has been around the western New York racing colony all her life and is currently one of two outriders that ply their trade at Batavia Downs. She is there on race nights to help the horses on the track, but when one horseman was seriously injured last November she took her assistance to a another level.

When Anthony Coletta went down in a wreck at Harrah’s Philadelphia in 2013, the burden of his medical bills became onerous in a time when his family needed to concentrate on his recovery. Many horsemen across North America held fundraisers and made donations to help offset those costs, and without hesitation, Chatt became one such champion of the cause.

Chatt started the ‘Stay Strong Anthony Coletta Fund Drive’ which ran for several weeks. She made contact with all local owners and horsemen both in person and via social media to solicit as many contributions as she could. She sold wrist bands, held silent auctions, got donations of purse percentages from drivers and trainers as well as donations from Batavia Downs staff and fans in the stands through collections at the track.

When the appeal was completed, Chatt had collected a total of $12,835, all of which was donated directly to Coletta. Her efforts left a lasting impression on the Coletta family as well as everyone involved in the sport in western New York.

It was for her selfless determination to make someone else’s misfortune just a little bit easier to deal with that Chatt has been named the 2014 Unsung Hero at Batavia Downs.

Chatt will be honoured in the winner’s circle at Batavia Downs on Saturday, December 6, during the upstate New York USHWA Night of Distinction.

(USHWA)