by Tim Bojarski, president, UNY-USHWA

Akron, NY — William Jennings Bryan said “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.” In January of this year, Shawn Gray made the choice to move his stable from West Gardiner, Maine, to Hamburg, N.Y., and from that point on, great success was his destiny. The affable horseman from the Pine Tree State not only led all drivers at two separate meets, he also choreographed his personal best year in the business.

Tim Bojarski photo

Shawn Gray is Western New York’s Driver of the Year for 2012.

It is on account of that success that the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association has named Shawn Gray Western New York’s Driver of the Year.

After racking up an amazing 206 wins at the Buffalo Raceway meet during the first half of the year, Gray followed that performance with another 126 wins at the current Batavia Downs meet. The most sought-out catch driver in town has now tallied 346 total wins and $1.8 million in purse money for the year. He is sporting a .333 UDR and is almost 50 percent in the money for 2012. Those totals reflect career numbers for both wins and earnings.

In the conditioners’ category, Bobbi Jo Martin was named western New York’s Trainer of the Year.

Martin scored 63 wins at the Buffalo meet and 48 at Batavia. For the year she has a total of 111 victories and $533,987 in purses. Her 20-plus horse stable was highlighted by the performances of Big Baller, who was just named Trotter of the Meet for Batavia. Martin’s total for wins and earnings are also career best marks for her.

As live racing at Batavia Downs draws to a close for their summer-fall session, Shawn Gray and Bobbi Jo Martin were also named the Driver and Trainer of the Meet. Gray scored 126 victories and his charges pocketed $695,130 in winnings. He was exactly 50 percent in the money for the entire meet. Martin’s 48 wins were seven better than her next closest competitor and her earnings of $228,695 were the best on the grounds.

Batavia Downs hosted a fan voting site on their website during the month of November where all the local enthusiasts could express their choice for their favorite driver. After several hundred votes were cast, Shawn Gray was chosen as the fans’ favorite driver with 24 percent of the votes, narrowly defeating Dan Noble, who garnered 21 percent. Rounding out the top five were Jim Morrill Jr. (11 percent), Dave McNeight III (11 percent) and Jack Flanigen (10 percent). One lucky fan was drawn from all voters who registered to be trackside and present the trophy to Gray.

All the award presentations for both human and equine recipients will be done during the “Night of Distinction” at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Dec. 8), which is the last night of racing for the meet.