Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ” proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
Pete’s Auto Body; because we care about our community……
The 2020 O’Brien Awards were announced by Standardbred Canada last weekend and there were a number of prominent local connections among the award winners which honour Canada’s best in harness racing
Most notably Bob McClure won his first O’Brien trophy as Canada’s Driver of the Year.
McClure who resides in Rockwood but started his driving days at Hanover Raceway, was the country’s leading money winning driver, eclipsing the $7 million mark in earnings, winning his first Breeders Crown Championship and capturing the Lampman Cup as the Ontario Sires Stakes’ leading driver.
Another driver, Austin Sorrie was recognized with the Future Star Award.
A native of Prince Edward Island, Sorrie was in demand on the Ontario B Track circuit, including Hanover Raceway, driving more than 1,200 races, scoring 151 wins
Richard Moreau, for an 8th time, is the Trainer of the Year
Moreau who frequents Hanover Raceway with prominent entries in their biggest races made 237 trips to the winner’s circle and earned more than $3.6 million in purses in 2020.
And finally, Pemberton was voted Canada’s Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year.
Pemberton, who was bred by owners Brenda Walker of Owen Sound and Christine Walker from Tara and trained by Paul Walker scored 4 victories for Trevor Henry in Ontario Sires Stakes events including the season-ending $ 250,000 Super Final.
The O’Brien Awards are the biggest night for harness racing in Canada and our pocket of the horse racing world did extremely well at the podium for 2020.
For Pete’s Auto Body, I’m Fred Wallace