by Tim Bojarski, for USHWA

Akron, NY — After two months of balloting came to a close on New Year’s Eve, 2010 will mark the first time a major award in harness racing was selected by the popular vote of the people who make it the great sporting event that it is — the fans.

The United States Harness Writers Association, in co-operation with the United States Trotting Association, is proud to announce the winners of its first Railbird Recognition Awards, who were selected solely by racing fan nominations and voting.

The 2009 Horseperson of the Year as chosen by your votes is Fran Azur.

Francis Azur is a businessman and horseman from Pennsylvania, but is a native of Newport, Vermont. He had an idea to help his hometown fair grow and enhance their racing program.

Kimberly Brooks photo

Fran Azur was named the 2009 Horseperson of the Year.

The Orleans County Fair in Barton, Vermont was given a donation of $20,000 and a “celebrity visit” to help do just that. He sent Barton a check for the amount which included $16,000 to help improve the purses at the fair and $4,000 for advertising and promotion of the visit.

The celebrities included of two of Azur’s Open class pacers, Blueridge Western ($1,029,254, 1:49.2) and Noble Falcon ($640,485, 1:48.3), their trainer Kevin McDermott, and drivers Brian Sears and Tim Tetrick. They were all brought together by Azur, at his expense, for this special day.

As the race unfolded, the crowd was on their feet and they cheered from the time the horses hit the track until they crossed the wire. And besides shattering the track record, the real impact of the outing was the attention it brought to the venue in particular and to the sport in general. When the dust settled, it would be a match race for the ages that is destined to go down in harness racing lore. And there were three regional newspapers, a statewide radio station, and the regional CBS-TV affiliate covering the event for the media.

When asked about his idea for this day or racing Azur responded, “I just wanted to do something for this fair.” And this is just one line on a long list of things that Azur has done to give back to the community over the years.

This was definitely a highlight of the racing season and it happened solely through the efforts of one man. And that feeling was shared by those in Barton, Vermont as well as racing fans across North America who named him Horseperson of the Year.

The 2009 Racing Moment of the Year as chosen by your votes is Muscle Hill’s Hambletonian.

Muscle Hill was clearly the horse to be reckoned with going into the 84th edition of the Hambletonian stake last August, but it was in that race where he showed the world he was truly one of the greatest trotters ever to set foot on a racetrack.

Muscle Hill not only set a new stakes record and tied a world record in winning the race in 1.50.1, he did it with such ease and domination one might wonder how fast he could have gone that day if asked. The buzz among the nearly 26,000 in attendance was that he did it so easily; it looked like a training mile. He was never seriously challenged.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Muscle Hill‘s Hambletonian victory was named the 2009 Racing Moment of the Year.

There was never a moment in doubt in the race as he grabbed the lead at the start before trotting to the wire by six open lengths in front of the second-place finisher in the $1.5 million classic. His connections knew what they had going in, but even they were in awe of the effort put forth that day.

“I knew he was sitting on a big race and he didn’t let me down,” driver Brian Sears said. “He had a great afternoon. This is very humbling; he does it easily.”

Trainer Greg Peck commented: “When Brian Sears steps on the gas, this horse is like a sports car that goes into overdrive. You knew he was something but you couldn’t dream that he would be this good. It’s beyond belief.”

Of all the races Muscle Hill won during his undefeated campaign of 2009, the Hambletonian was the one most mentioned by the voters and it was noted with vivid recollections of the single best racing moment of 2009.

Fran Azur and Muscle Hill are not the only two winners to be announced today. Everyone who voted was entered in a random drawing for a chance to win two tickets to the Night of Champions, USHWA’s presentation of the Dan Patch Awards, to be held this year at Yonkers Raceway on February 28. The person selected will also have the privilege of presenting the award themselves to Azur and the connections of Muscle Hill.

The winner selected is Bill Krikorian of Lowell, Massachusetts. The first runner-up named was Kimberly Brooks of Brownington, Vermont. Brooks, as first runner-up, will do the honors in the event the winner cannot attend.

USHWA would like to thank the United States Trotting Association for partnering in this event and everyone who took part in the voting.