Standardbred Canada has announced there will not be a 2016 recipient for the Cam Fella Award.
The Cam Fella Award, named in honour of the world-class standardbred, Cam Fella, is awarded for extreme recent meritorious service to the Canadian harness racing industry. Because of his unparalleled contributions to the sport of harness racing, Standardbred Canada established the Cam Fella Award in 1997 with 'Cam' the initial recipient. The award is given, when warranted, to an individual or group that has displayed some of those same qualities that made Cam Fella one of the greatest names in Canadian harness racing.
A national committee of 16, representing the Standardbred community, vote by secret ballot on nominees put forth by the Nominating Committee. A winner must receive 75 per cent of the ‘yes’ votes to receive the Cam Fella Award.
Canadian-owned, trained and driven, Cam Fella was an outstanding racehorse in the early 1980s. He won 56 races, over $2 million in purses and two consecutive Horse of the Year titles in North America. As a stallion, Cam sired numerous world champions and horses with earnings in excess of $106 million. Unfortunately, ‘Cam’ suffered from testicular cancer and was, in turn, retired from breeding in 1997. Cam Fella and his trainer-driver, Pat Crowe, reunited for a Good Will Tour of Canada and the United States in 1997, which generated a tremendous amount of positive media coverage for harness racing. Cam passed away in May of 2001 at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he had lived for several years and served as an outstanding ambassador of the Standardbred breed. The creation of the Cam Fella Award was the harness racing industry’s way of ensuring that Cam’s contribution to the sport is never forgotten.
Last year, William Andrew was honoured as the 2015 recipient of the award.
Click here to see past winners of the Cam Fella Award.