More than 125 horsemen and women were in attendance Friday night at the 26th annual Florida Harness Racing Hall of Fame Dinner held at the Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa in Pompano Beach.
The highlight of the evening was the inductions into the Florida Hall of Fame. Entering were horsemen Mark Friedman and Dan Hennessey and horses Rock On and Royel Millennium.
Hosted by the Florida Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association, there were also special human awards given out for the 2016 season and presentations were also made to the Horse of the Year by the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association and the Florida Amateur Driving Club.
Hall of Fame inductee Mark Friedman has been in harness racing for more than five decades as an owner, breeder, trainer and driver. His Polo Stables has had many top Florida-bred champions, none better than the top pacing mare, Bling, p,1:51, a career winner of more than $610,000.
“To have worked most of my life in harness racing and now receiving this award is a highlight of my career and I thank everyone who has helped me along the way,” Friedman said.
Hall of Fame inductee Dan Hennessey, who is nearing his 1,000th career training win and $6 million in earnings, closed out 2016 with a UDRS of .420 despite nearly going blind two years ago. His brother, Hall of Famer Wally Hennessey, summed it up well in his introduction.
“I don’t think we ever could have had our stable going steady for forty plus years if not for Dan,” Hennessey said. He is the one who always held the fort down between Pompano and Saratoga year after year. Many of you don’t know that he holds a world record as the only trainer ever to use same driver on nearly every single horse he ever trained, and that was me!”
Taking home the most hardware on the evening and it was a good thing she came to the dinner with her pickup truck, was Owner-Breeder Laurie Poulin. In addition to her horse, Royel Millennium, being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Laurie was named Breeder of the Year for the second straight time and also received the Dana Irving Award for the second straight year. Poulin also received four Horse of the Year Crystal Awards for her stables Prairie Panther, Prairie Sweetheart, Prairie Jaguar and Prairie Fortune.
All of the horses were bred by Poulin and co-owned and trained by Mike Deters.
FLORIDA USHWA AWARD WINNERS
Hall of Fame – Mark Friedman
Hall of Fame – Dan Hennessey
Hall of Fame – Rock On
Hall of Fame – Royel Millennium
Delvin Miller Award – Fred Morosini
Dana Irving Award – Laurie Poulin
R.D. Ricketts Award – Kevin Kelly
Stanley Dancer Award – Sergio Corona
Lifetime Achievement – Leon Cable
Dan Gawlas Award – John Berry
Bill Popfinger Award – Mike Deters & Maggie Audley
France Dodge Van Lennep Award – Marianne Audley
Allen J. Finkelson Award – Gabe Prewitt
Caretaker of the Year – Gary McQuaid
FSBOA CRYSTAL AWARD WINNERS
2YO Pacing Filly – Gold Star Aurora
2YO Pacing Colt – Prairie Panther
2YO Trotting Filly – Atlantic Crest
2YO Trotting Colt – Im Done
3YO Pacing Filly – Prairie Sweetheart
3YO Pacing Colt – R Chism
3YO Trotting Filly – Gold Star Briana
3YO Trotting Colt – Rexamillion
Older Pacing Mare – Goldstar Rockette
Older Pacing Horse – Prairie Jaguar
Older Trotting Mare – Selena
Older Trotting Horse – Prairie Fortune
2016 Breeder of the Year – Laurie Poulin
2016 Florida Amateur Driver of the Year - Tony Dinges
(Florida Chapter of USHWA)