At the recently completed national meetings of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), Monticello Raceway’s Shawn Wiles was elected vice president of the organization.
President Steve Wolf ended his two-year term at those meetings, which then opened the position of second VP as other officers moved up the chairs. Wiles will now serve in his newly elected capacity for two years.
Presently the general manager of the Monticello Raceway, Wiles has been a longtime member of the Monticello-Goshen Chapter USHWA and currently is the chapter’s vice president.
“I am excited to work with the present youthful USHWA Board,” Wiles said. “They are an extremely capable bunch of young men, who I can learn from.”
Wiles is referring to his newly elected president, Chris Tully, and vice president, Tim Bojarski, both of whom moved up the chairs to their current two-year positions.
Wiles has long been a director of United States Trotting Association from District 8 where he now serves as the chairman of that district.
His career in harness racing started in the backstretch of Monticello Raceway during the 1970s where he worked as a groom for Richard Sturgis, Robert Camper and Jim Grundy. He then went on in search of a Grand Circuit stable to work for and found success with the famed trotting specialists of Continental Farms under the guidance of Hakan Wallner, Hall of Famer Berndt Lindstedt, and Jan Johnson.
Wiles was the first American second-trainer to work for the famed Scandinavian trotting experts from 1980-1986.
During his tenure as a groom he rubbed many top performers, most notably the crack stakes filly Dominant, and then worked for Castleton Farms from 1986-1988. Wiles joined Monticello Raceway in 1996, working under John Manzi in publicity and Bill Sullivan in operations.
Wiles was initially promoted to assistant GM of Monticello Casino and Raceway, and lately promoted to general manager of the entire facility. He was recently lauded by the local scribes on his tough stance on racing integrity.
Wiles is actively involved in many civic and community oriented endeavours. He is a past president, now trustee, of the Fallsburg Central School District Board of Education, past president of the Woodridge Housing Association, and a longtime AYSO soccer coach as well as vice president of the Monticello-Goshen Harness Writers Association,
The proud parents of Brody, 19, and Samantha, 16, Wiles and his wife, Lisa, Superintendent of the Ellenville School District, reside in Woodridge, N.Y.
(USHWA)