by M. Kelly Young

Albany, NY — Patricia Ann (Patty) McCann, 53, a life-long participant in harness racing, died July 29, 2010, surrounded by her family.

Mrs. McCann and her husband, Jim, and son, Matt, resided with Marie Harrison, her sister-in-law, in Garden City, Michigan.

Mrs. McCann loved caring for harness horses and was proudest of her time working for Hall of Fame trainer Doug Ackerman at his base at Hazel Park. She cared for Chocolatier ($1.3 million) during his 2- and 3-year-old career, accompanying him to Du Quoin for a victory in the World Trotting Derby in 2006. She also cared for the standout trotter Coventry, who earned more than $500,000 in his career.

She was born Dec. 22, 1956, in Peru, Ind., and was a 1975 graduate of Oak Hill High School in Converse, Ind. She grew up as the fourth generation in a harness racing family and her love of horses was cultivated early. She learned how to care for racehorses in the stable of her father, Harry Sowash, in Converse and traveled with his horses to compete at tracks across the Midwest.

Mrs. McCann also worked during her career in the stables of Lee Sattelberg in Michigan and Lew Williams, an Immortal of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame, in California and at the Meadowlands. She also worked for Vince Copeland at Hazel Park and owned the horse Capital Gains with him.

She married James Edward McCann on Jan. 14, 1978, and the couple took up residence in Michigan. She was recognized by the Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association as the Michigan Caretaker of the Year in 2002. When she finished working as a caretaker, she continued to work in The Tack Shoppe at Hazel Park and Northville Downs and maintained many friendships in the sport. She was also a long-time member of the USTA.

Mrs. McCann is survived by her husband, Jim; son, Matt; mother, Janet Sowash; sisters, Trudy Sowash, Jeanne Black, Joanne Young and Julie Green; 14 nieces and nephews; and several great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Harry Sowash, and brother, Jerry Sowash.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Harness Horse Youth Foundation, 16575 Carey Road, Westfield, IN 46074. Memorial services will be held at a later date at the Redford Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Redford, Michigan, and in Indiana.