The I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club would like to congratulate Don Hall of Westchester, NS, for winning the 2017 O’Brien Awards Online Handicapping Contest.
Hall, along with three other entrants scored 17 out of a possible 20 points, answering seven of the eight questions correctly. He missed selecting the two-year-old filly pacer category for the horse division with the closest number of voting points. Hall’s name was selected in the blind draw.
Don has been involved in almost every aspect of the sport. During the past 50 years he has tried his hand as a groom, trainer, driver and owner.
Some of his highlights during this time include working with two O’Brien award winners -- Somebeachsomewhere and International Moni, with his most memorable moment being when Somebeachsomewhere set a World Record of 1:46.4 at the Red Mile in Lexington, KY.
Hall won an I Love Canadian Harness Racing prize package and also has the choice of a $50 gift certificate to the Canadian harness racetrack of choice or a $50 donation to a registered Standardbred charity. Don has chosen to donate $50 to Morning Star Acres in Harcourt, N.B.
Below are the answers to the contest questions.
WHO WILL WIN THE O’BRIEN AWARD OF HORSEMANSHIP? (2 points)
Marc Campbell took home his second O’Brien Award of Horsemanship after having a career year in 2017.
WHO WILL WIN ARMSTRONG BREEDER OF THE YEAR? (2 points)
Partners Marvin Katz of Toronto, Ont., and Al Libfeld, of Pickering, Ont., collected their third consecutive O’Brien trophy for Armstrong Breeder of The Year.
WHO WILL WIN DRIVER OF THE YEAR? (2 points)
Doug McNair of Guelph, Ont., won his first O’Brien as Canada’s Driver of the Year following a career year.
WHO WILL WIN TRAINER OF THE YEAR? (2 points)
Richard Moreau, of Puslinch, Ont., was awarded his fifth consecutive O’Brien bronze in the Trainer of the Year category.
WHO WILL WIN THE FUTURE STAR AWARD? (2 points)
In only his third season of full time driving, Brett MacDonald of Manotick, Ont., was voted Future Star winner.
WHICH O’BRIEN DIVISION HORSE WINNER WILL HAVE THE HIGHEST POINT TOTAL FROM THE VOTING RESULTS? (3 points)
The two-year-old trotting filly category had the highest point total with Kadabra Queen scoring 79 points.
WHICH O’BRIEN DIVISION FOR HORSES WILL BE THE CLOSEST IN POINTS? (Points represent first and second place votes) (3 points)
The two-year-old pacing filly category was the closest. Percy Bluechip had 64 points and Kendall Seelster had 54 points.
WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE NAMED CANADA’S 2017 HORSE OF THE YEAR? (4 points)
Hannelore Hanover was named Canada’s Horse of the Year, now known as the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year Award. She also won her second consecutive O’Brien Trophy as Older Trotting Mare.
Click here to view a list of the 2017 O’Brien Award winners.
Click here to see if your picture is in the 2017 O’Brien Awards photo slideshow!