by Gerry Connors, for the United States Harness Writers Association

Harrisburg, PA — Sweet Future, a homebred daughter of Falcon’s Future-Sweet Dahrlin whose progeny lit up both the 2-year-old and the free-for-all pacing ranks this season, was the unanimous choice of the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s broodmare board of experts, and thus she wins the 2011 Pacing Broodmare of the Year Award in a “walkover,” without needing the vote of USHWA’s rank and file.

A foal of 1998 bred by the Uptown Stable of the successful California businessman Seth Rosenfeld (of Beach Towel fame), Sweet Future took a mark of 1:54.2 as a 3-year-old and then was retired to the broodmare ranks under the aegis of Rosenfeld’s Birnam Wood Stable — Birnam Wood being the “unmovable” forest that proved the undermining of Macbeth in Shakespeare’s famous play.

And indeed, the foes of the mare’s principal stars of 2011 — freshman Sweet Lou and evergreen Bettor Sweet — hated to see those opponents inexorably coming towards them, as the sons of Sweet Future came out on top in many a racetrack battle.

Sweet Lou, by Yankee Cruiser, as a 2011 2-year-old paced in 1:49 in winning the Breeders Crown on a cool night at Woodbine on Oct. 29 — merely the fastest mile ever by a 2-year-old in harness racing history. His other stakes victories, including dominance in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes program, earned his connections $686,647, and marks him as one of the very top horses going into 2012’s “glamour division” of 3-year-old pacing colts.

The Bettor’s Delight-Sweet Future mating Bettor Sweet had his best year on the racetrack in 2011, finishing first eight times and second seven times more, earning $879,000 against the likes of Foiled Again, We Will See, and one of the strongest FFA crops in recent history, zooming his lifetime bank account to $2,216,104.

Sweet Future also earned her fourth 1:55 credit in 2011, from the 4-year-old Real Desire gelding Sweet Vengeance. Her other 1:55 performer is her 2003 daughter with Artsplace, the 1:51.4f winner Sweet Paprika.

Owner/breeder Rosenfeld was delighted to hear of his mare winning honors (as if there were ever a doubt), and says he looks forward to attending the Dan Patch Awards Dinner, honoring Stan Bergstein, to be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, at the DoubleTree Hilton at Orlando (FL) SeaWorld.

For tickets to attend the banquet, contact Steve Wolf at stevejw@bellsouth.net; to take a congratulatory ad in the Dinner Journal, for Rosenfeld, in appreciation of Bergstein, or to honor any other award winner, contact Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com. Reservations at the DoubleTree can be made by calling 800.327.0363; mentioning “USHWA” or “DPA” should get you a discounted rate.