On Monday, December 15, Standardbred Canada announced the finalists for the 2014 O’Brien Awards, which honour Canada’s best in harness racing over the past season.

The winners will be announced at the annual O’Brien Awards Black Tie Gala on Saturday, February 7, 2015, at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.

This will be the 26th edition of the O’Brien Awards, named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman and member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Eight past O’Brien Award winners are looking to add to their trophy collections and are either defending titles or are nominated in a new division. These past winners include: Anndrovette, Bee A Magician, Intimidate, Riveting Rosie, Chris Christoforou, Bill Davis, Richard Moreau, Al McIntosh Holdings Inc., & Robert McIntosh Stables Inc.

For Chris Christoforou, 2014 was a year of milestones. The 43-year-old resident of Campbellville, Ontario surpassed 6,000 career wins in early November and then in mid-November, eclipsed $100 million in earnings. These accomplishments, combined with his 237 wins and over $5.3 million in earnings, have earned him a nomination as Canada’s Driver of the Year. The three-time winner of Driver of the Year, who currently sits in second in the earnings standings for Canadian drivers, last won this award in 2003.

Trevor Henry, 43, of Arthur, Ontario, has earned a first time nomination as Canada’s Driver of the Year. With a reputation as being one of the “busiest” drivers in Ontario, 2014 was no different as the talented reinsman has driven in 1,913 races to date, guided horses to over $3.3 million in earnings, and made 454 trips to the winner’s circle -- topping the win charts for drivers in the country. Henry, who has dominated the Ontario “B” tracks for many years, made the decision to race full time on the Woodbine Circuit this past fall, and made an immediate impact when he recorded a grand slam with four victories on the fifth night of the meet.

Richard Moreau, 50, of Puslinch, Ontario, is back to defend his Trainer of the Year title against first-time finalist Jimmy Takter.

Moreau, who has been a mainstay on the WEG circuit for over 10 years, leads all Canadian trainers in the wins column and sits in second behind Takter in the earnings column. Moreau has trained 228 winners and horses to $2.5 million in earnings and operates a large stable of claiming and conditioned horses.

Takter, 54, of East Windsor, New Jersey, has trained 18 winners and horses to $2.6 million in earnings in Canada and competes primarily in stakes events. Takter trains Hambletonian Champion Trixton, who is a finalist in the Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt division.

Bill Davis, 53, of Langley, BC was the inaugural winner of the O’Brien Award of Horsemanship in 2003, and returns as a finalist in 2014 after putting together some incredible stats considering it was probably the most personally challenging year of his career. Davis and his partner Rick Mowles lost 20 horses in a horrific barn fire in early June. Despite this major setback, Davis has driven 130 winners to date and horses to $686,000 in earnings, and trained 103 winners and horses with $556,000 in purse earnings.

Dustin Jones, 53, of Waterdown, Ontario is a first time finalist in this category and enjoyed a very productive season, winning 26 races from 150 starts and $983,422 in earnings. His stable was led by his homebred, Dont Rush, a winner of almost $300,000 and an O’Brien Award finalist in the Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt category.

JK Shesalady and Sports Chic, the top two leading money winners in their division, are the finalists in the Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly category.

JK Shesalady, a daughter of Art Major was perfect in her juvenile season, scoring 12 victories and earning over $930,000 for her owner-breeders 3 Brothers Stables (Alan, Ronald and Steven Katz) of New York, N.Y. She picked up wins in the Tompkins-Geers, the Eternal Camnation, swept the Shes A Great Lady Stake at Mohawk, won stakes at Hoosier Park and Lexington, swept the Three Diamonds at Woodbine and then ended her invincible season with wins in the elimination and final of the Breeders Crown. She took a mark of 1:50.1 in winning the Shes A Great Lady final at Mohawk, her richest payday of the season, equaling the world record for a two-year-old pacing filly.

Sports Chic hit the board in eight of 10 season starts with five wins and over $240,000 to her credit. The daughter of Sportswriter posted a season’s mark of 1:54.2 in an Ontario Sires Stakes event at Georgian Downs and was four for six in OSS competition.

Artspeak and Go Daddy Go battled it out on the racetrack this season and will now battle it out for Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt honours.

The Western Ideal colt Artspeak won eight of 10 races which included a seven race win streak, and over $805,000 while taking on North America’s finest pacing colts. His winning efforts in stakes competition included a division of the Nassagaweya, the elimination and final of the Metro Pace in a season’s best 1:50.2 and a solid win in the Governors Cup to end his season.

Go Daddy Go hit the board in nine of 14 starts this year, good for almost $400,000 in earnings. The son of Ponders’s biggest win of the season came in the Battle of Waterloo and he also posted a solid runner up performance in the Governors Cup.

Lady Shadow and Major Dancer are the finalists in the Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly division.

Lady Shadow, a daughter of Shadow Play, followed up a productive two-year-old season with another outstanding year, winning six races and banking over $280,000. She paced to a 1:49.2 lifetime best in an elimination of the Canadian Breeders Championship at Mohawk Racetrack.

Lightly raced at age two, Major Dancer posted seven wins in 19 races and earned over $418,000 during her sophomore campaign which included a 1:51.2 career mark in the Town Pro Final. She also posted wins in a pair of New York Sire Stakes events and with runner up finishes in six stakes events, picked up some significant paycheques.

Two millionaire colts -- JK Endofanera and McWicked are the finalists in the Three-Year-Old Pacing Colt category.

JK Endofanera, a son of Art Major, enjoyed an incredible season with 17 top three finishes in 20 races, over $1.1 million in earnings, a mark of 1:48.2, and a victory in Canada’s richest harness race, the Pepsi North America Cup.

McWicked boasted 21 top three finishes in 23 starts and almost $1.5 million in earnings. He took a mark of 1:47.3 at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in winning the Max Hempt final in world record time. The son of McArdle put together a strong finish to his sophomore campaign with wins in the Breeders Crown Championship and Progress Pace.

Anndrovette is looking for her fourth consecutive trophy as Canada’s top pacing mare while American In Paris earns a first time nomination.

At age seven, Anndrovette continues to perform at her usual high standard and won six of 22 races this past season while adding $538,000 to her bankroll to push her career earnings over $3 million. She took a season’s best of 1:49.1 at Mohawk in winning her third consecutive Roses Are Red Stakes title.

American In Paris made a seamless transition from the sophomore ranks to the older pacing mare division. The daughter of American Ideal was a model of consistency, posting 23 top three finishes in 26 races and netting $243,000 in earnings. She took a career mark of 1:50 at The Meadowlands in a leg of the Artistic Vision Series in April.

The Older Pacing Horse division is typically loaded with talent and 2014 was no different as some of the past year’s war horses returned to the scene and new graduates joined the ranks to provide some of the most thrilling racing action on the stakes calendar. Modern Legend and State Treasurer were two of those veteran pacers who gave racing fans lots to cheer about and have earned nominations as finalists in this category.

Modern Legend, a son of Modern Art, bred, owned and trained by Dave Drew of St. Catharines won five races and over $436,000. His most exciting performance of the season was a three length victory in the Canadian Pacing Derby at Mohawk Racetrack, Canada’s oldest harness stakes event in a career best 1:47.2.

State Treasurer, a son of Real Desire won eight races and $480,000 this season and his record of 1:48.1 came in a Preferred event at Mohawk. His richest payday was in the Allerage Stake at Lexington’s Red Mile.

Danielle Hall and Stubborn Belle are the Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly division finalists.

Danielle Hall, a daughter of Deweycheatumnhowe, won seven races and over half a million dollars in her juvenile campaign; an outstanding return for a $21,000 yearling purchase. Five of those victories came in Ontario Sires Stakes races and she also showed she could handle North America’s best when she posted an impressive victory in the Champlain Stakes at Mohawk.

Stubborn Belle won five races and over $524,000 this season and was always a threat in stakes competition. The Taurus Dream filly posted a victory in the Peaceful Way Final at Mohawk, her richest payday on the season, and won half of her six Ontario Sires Stakes events.

Dont Rush and Habitat are the nominees in the Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt category.

Dont Rush dominated his division in the Ontario Sires Stakes, winning four of six events and putting almost $300,000 in his owner’s bank account. The son of Infinitif took a mark of 1:57.1 at Mohawk in winning the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final, his final start of the season.

Habitat enjoyed an impressive season, winning seven races and over $567,000 while taking a mark of 1:53.4 in the Bluegrass Stakes at Lexington. He also added wins in the Kindergarten, William Wellwood Memorial Trot Final and Matron Final to his resume.

Riveting Rosie is back to add another O’Brien trophy to her owner’s trophy case, this time as a three-year-old. The Muscle Mass filly returned to the racing wars and won five races and $436,000 for her connections. She was also a top OSS performer, collecting four wins in six events.

The Angus Hall filly White Becomes Her is the other sophomore trotting filly finalist. She scored six wins and earned $288,000 during the season which included wins in the elimination and final of the Canadian Breeders Championship and two Ontario Sires Stakes events.

Harper Blue Chip and Trixton square off in the Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt division.

Harper Blue Chip was on the board in 12 of 15 races this season while earning almost $700,000 for his owners. He was perfect in Ontario Sires Stakes competition with four victories to his credit. One of his most impressive races came in his third place showing in the Hambletonian.

Trixton, a winner of eight of 11 races and $915,000 trotted to a season’s mark of 1:50.3 in winning trotting’s richest race, the prestigious Hambletonian. He also posted victories on Canadian soil in the Goodtimes and Simcoe Stakes.

Bee A Magician, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2013, is back as an O’Brien finalist in the Older Trotting Mare division and is up against Classic Martine.

Bee A Magician earned $422,000 this season and posted 12 top three finishes in 17 races. One of her best performances came in winning a division of the Miss Versatility at The Meadowlands in a season’s best 1:51.1, while clocking a 26 second final quarter.

Classic Martine won half of her 18 races and earned $452,000 while scoring victories in the Miss Versatility Final, the Armbro Flight and the Ima Lula Trot.

Intimidate, Canada’s Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year in 2012, was a finalist in the Older Trotting division last year, and returns again this year hoping to take home the hardware. The five-year-old son of Justice Hall raced 14 times this season and earned over $655,000 for his owners. His most impressive start of the year was his final one on November 29, where he trotted to a 1:51.2 victory in the TVG Free For All at The Meadowlands.

Slip Into Glide is the other Older Trotting Horse finalist. The six-year-old son of Yankee Glide has enjoyed a solid campaign in 2014, posting 16 top three finishes in 33 races and banking almost $170,000. He was a regular performer in the Mohawk and Woodbine preferred ranks and took a mark of 1:52.2 at Mohawk.

In the Armstrong Breeder of the Year category, William Andrew, Calgary, Alta. / Meridian Farms, Milton, P.E.I. and Robert McIntosh Stables Inc., Windsor, Ont. & Al McIntosh Holdings Inc., Leamington, Ont. are the finalists.

Meridian Farms, owned by William and Denise Andrew of Calgary, is a family run Standardbred breeding operation with two farms: a home farm in Milton, Prince Edward Island and the western farm at High River, Alberta. Both offer full services for breeders and each year their yearlings enter public auctions in Atlantic Canada and Alberta. William Andrew-bred horses won 139 races and $680,000 to date in 2014 and Meridian-bred horses won 136 races and $622,500.

The brother duo of Robert McIntosh Stables Inc. and Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. have enjoyed considerable success as breeders during the last decade and they manage to keep and race many of their homebreds. From 18 starters bred by the McIntoshes that raced this year, they won 56 races and almost $1.5 million in purse money.

The Future Star Award finalists are Tyler Borth, 22, of Ingersoll, Ont. and Nick Gallucci, 27, of Brantford, Ont.

Borth has driven 89 winners and horses to $407,000 in earnings in 739 races this season, and trained 15 winners and horses with purse earnings of $59,000.

Gallucci has trained 32 winners and horses to $240,000.

One of the 24 horse nominees will be honoured as Canada’s Horse of the Year. The winners will be announced at the O’Brien Awards Gala on Saturday, February 7, 2015, at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.

A complete list of finalists follows.