from the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association

Platteville, WI — Richard A. Davis of Marshfield, Wis., will be honored on Saturday (Jan. 28) during the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association annual banquet. WHHA President Gabe Wand has chosen the longtime horseman as the recipient of the 2016 Horseperson of the Year Award.

Rick Davis has a harness racing career that started in the 1970s and 1980s, but took a hiatus until the early 2000s.

He got his start on the Wisconsin county fair scene and has most recently focused his stable on Minnesota-breds and shifting racing mostly to Running Aces Harness Park. He is the son of Wisconsin Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductee Marvin Davis.

His career in harness was rejuvenated in the early 2000s as his father campaigned Ryan’s Victory, Wisconsin’s Trotter of the Year, in 2000. Rick took over the training for Ryan’s Victory and five years later returned the horse to the Wisconsin trotting standings by receiving back-to-back runner-up Trotter of the Year honors. In the meantime, he also campaigned Dancer’s Shiann, who claimed the 2006 Pacer of the Year title.

This year was a breakout year as Davis sent horses to the gate 31 times and hit the board 18 of those times. His trainer earnings of almost $40,000 was well over any previous year.

A pair of trotters brought his name to the forefront as Al-Mar Reba Babe took a lifetime mark of 1:58.2 at Running Aces and bankrolled almost $50,000 for the Davis Stable. However it was Abra’s Momentom that put the feather in his cap. “Tommy” as he is known in the small Marshfield stable, brought home the gold in the $25,000 Minnesota-Bred 3-year-old colt and gelding trot championship. That is no small feat for a small northern Wisconsin stable.

The WHHA banquet is held annually at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Madison, Wis., and everyone is welcome to join. Dinner tickets are $22.50 per person and can be obtained by contacting Gabe Wand (608.574.5468 or gabewand@yahoo.com) or by mailing payment to WHHA Secretary Jeanne Marquis, 6651 Hyslop Rd. Dane, WI 53529. Also, the WHHA has a room rate of $77/per night (hot breakfast buffet included) and you can book rooms by contacting the hotel directly at 608.244.2481.