Upstate New York Hall of Fame announced

by Tim Bojarksi, president, UNY-USHWA

Akron, NY — In an effort to immortalize the many great trainers, drivers and racing visionaries that have contributed to the success and longevity of the four major harness tracks in Upstate New York, the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association has announced the formation of a permanent, physical hall where each year’s selected class will be enshrined.

The Hall of Fame will be housed at Tioga Downs in Nichols, N.Y. There will also be a Hall of Fame page on our website where bios and pictures will be available. Best of all, you can have a say on who gets inducted!

Every year beginning with 2010, there will be three people inducted from each of the four tracks. Two will be living and one will be deceased. Anyone who has ever participated in the sport at any time at Vernon Downs, Batavia Downs, Buffalo Raceway, or Tioga Downs will be considered eligible for enshrinement.

Candidates for the Hall will be nominated in two ways; the members of UNY-USHWA will name two people and racing fans from all four tracks will vote for one more. Voting by the fans will take place online through a link at www.upstatenyushwa.com. The link is located at the top of our homepage.

There will be a total of 12 individuals enshrined each year, three from each of the four tracks. These 12 people will be honored during two separate induction ceremonies. First, the inductees will be feted at the home track for which they were selected. Then, all 12 will be officially inducted at a dinner honoring them at Vernon Downs to be held in conjunction with the USTA District 8 meetings.

Finally, everyone voting for their favorites for the Hall will be entered into a random drawing for two tickets to attend the dinner and enshrinement ceremony at Vernon Downs later this year.

Voting deadline for each track is as follows: Buffalo Raceway-June 30; Tioga Downs-July 30; Batavia Downs-August 30; and Vernon Downs-August 30.

Deadline looms for 2010 Dewey Degree Scholarship

May is your final chance to apply for the 2010 edition of the Dewey Degree Scholarship.

The Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association is looking for eligible high school seniors (or returning college students) from families of licensed owners, trainers, or drivers who participate full or part time in harness racing. They can now log on to www.upstatenyushwa.com and print out an application form that could bring them $1,500 closer to completing their college education.

Through the generosity of Ray Schnittker and Jeff Gural, UNY-USHWA is offering the scholarship named for the world class trotter, Deweycheatumnhowe. The “Dewey Degree” is an annual fellowship given to an eligible student who meets the criteria and is chosen by our Chapter Officers and an impartial third party judge. It is a $1,500 one time, non-renewable assistance award.

The applicant must be entering college for the first time this fall or already in a college, university, or trade school and be enrolled as a full time student (12 credit hours minimum). Applicants’ parent(s), grandparent(s), and/or legal guardian(s) must be a licensed horseman or horsewoman during the year prior to application (in this case, 2009). Only one relative need be licensed to be eligible. Applicant must be at least a high school senior at time of application. Anyone living in the U.S. or Canada is eligible.

You are required to submit a typewritten essay discussing your background in harness racing, your work experience in harness racing, what you think could be done to better harness racing in the future, and how you see yourself as part of it. The essay should be around 1,000 words. You will also need to submit proof of your relatives licensing and a minimum of two letters of reference — one from a horse person and one from a teacher in your current school.

All documents must be received no later than May 31. The recipient will be announced shortly thereafter and the scholarship will be presented in the winner’s circle at Tioga Downs this summer. We request the winner to be present for that presentation.

For more information and an application form, please visit www.upstatenyushwa.com.

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