By US Racing Team
Greenshoe
Photo Credits: Mike Lisa
Greenshoe was the runaway winner over stablemate Gimpanzee for the Dan Patch Award as 3-year-old Trotter of the Year in voting released Friday by the United State Harness Writers Association and the American Harness Racing Secretaries.
Division champions in six trotting and six pacing categories were chosen, with Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year the Horse of Year to be announced on Feb. 23.
Greenshoe won 10 of 13 races in 2019 and earned $1.27 million, with victories in the Kentucky Futurity, the Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial, and sire stakes championships in Kentucky and New Jersey. He also finished second by a neck in the $1 million Hambletonian.
Among the other trotting divisional champions are Atlanta as top trotting older female (edging Manchego by a 74-72 margin in the voting), Real Cool Sam as top 2-year-old male, Ramona Hill as top 2-year-old female, When Dovescry as 3-year-old female, and Six Pack as top older male.
Real Cool Sam won his first nine starts with his only loss coming at the Breeders Crown.
A total of 147 voters took part in the balloting.
Greenshoe’s margin was 123-22 over Gimpanzee. Both are trained by Trainer of the Year Marcus Melander.
Six Pack and Atlanta are repeat divisional champions, and Atlanta is the defending Horse of the Year.
In pacing, Shartin N was voted the divisional champion female, with Warrawee Ubeaut the top 3-year-old female and Bettor’s Wish the top 3-year-old male. The other winners are Tall Dark Stranger (2-year-old male), Lyons Sentinel (2-year-old female) and the 8-year-old McWicked (top older male).
The 6-year-old Shartin N, Warrawee Ubeaut, and McWicked are repeat winners.
Trainer Marcus Melander takes Greenshoe for a morning jog at The Red Mile, Lexington, Ky. – Photo by Maryjean Wall
New Zealand-bred Shartin N received 145 of the 147 votes after winning 15 of 19 races, among them the Lady Liberty in record time for a female of 1:46.4, the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series final, Roses Are Red, Golden Girls, and Artiscape.
Warrawee Ubeaut also received 145 of 147 votes. Warrawee Ubeaut had an eight-race win streak in the prime of the season, which included her Breeders Crown final, the Glen Garnsey Memorial, the Jugette, and the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship.
McWicked, the 2018 Horse of the Year, won his third divisional crown. He was involved in the closest vote among pacers, winning 73-70 over Lather Up. Among McWicked’s victories were the Jim Ewart Memorial, Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial, and Dan Rooney Invitational.