by Kathy Wade Vlaar, manager of industry marketing, Standardbred Canada
Mississauga, ON — Standardbred Canada today announced there is no 2011 recipient for the Cam Fella Award.
The Cam Fella Award, named in honor of the world class Standardbred horse, 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 Fella as the initial recipient. The award is given, when warranted, to an individual or group who 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. A winner must receive a simple majority of the votes to receive the Cam Fella Award.
Canadian-owned, trained and driven, Cam Fella was an outstanding racehorse in the early 1980s, winning 56 races, more than $2 million in purse money and two consecutive Horse of the Year titles in North America. As a stallion, Cam Fella sired numerous world champions and horses with earnings in excess of $106 million. Unfortunately, Cam Fella suffered from testicular cancer and in early 1997 was retired from breeding.
Cam Fella and his trainer–driver Pat Crowe reunited for a Good Will Tour of Canada and the United States in 1997, generating a tremendous amount of positive media coverage for harness racing.
Cam Fella died in May 2001 at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he had lived for several years and served as an outstanding ambassador of the Standardbred breed.
Here is a list of past winners of the Cam Fella Award:
1997-Cam Fella
2000-The Honourable Michael D. Harris
2003-The Honourable Mitchell Murphy
2004-Armstrong Bros. Farm
2005-Dr. David C. Reid
2006-Ralph Klein
2007-Ann Curran
2008-Somebeachsomewhere
2009-Ross Galbraith
2010-Admirals Express
The creation of the Cam Fella Award was the harness racing industry’s way of ensuring that Cam Fella’s contribution to the sport is never forgotten.