There have been plenty of surprises since the Horse of the Year, Trotter of the Year and Pacer of the Year awards have been officially announced at USHWA’s Dan Patch Awards.

by Debbie Little

Who doesn’t like a good mystery?

Everyone loves to play detective. If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be so many shows on TV where you have to figure out who did it.

The same goes for the U.S. Harness Writers Association Dan Patch Awards — to be awarded on Sunday (Feb. 23) in Orlando, FL — where Pacer, Trotter, and Horse of the Year are kept a secret until they’re announced live at the banquet.

There are years, such as 2024 with Twin B Joe Fresh, where you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out how the Horse of the Year balloting probably went.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still reasons to wear your deerstalker.

Jiggy Jog S had to retire with only six starts in 2024, and even though she was perfect and beat the boys on more than one occasion, some think that 2-year-old trotting sensation Maryland could be on the top of some people’s ballots for Trotter of the Year.

The fact that no one will know for certain until the envelope is opened and the name is read, makes the Dan Patch Awards livestream must-see TV.

From 2014-16, all horse awards including Pacer, Trotter and Horse of the Year were announced by USHWA at 3 p.m. on the day that the voting ended. But in 2014, even announcing everything provided some unforeseen mystery.

During a live broadcast from The Meadowlands, JK She’salady was announced as the winner of Horse of the Year, but as you can hear in the background of the video, the results were immediately questioned.

The mystery surrounded a voting anomaly.

Horse of the Year has been voted on by USHWA since 1947, with Pacer of the Year and Trotter of the Year added in 1970. The American Harness Racing Secretaries also currently get to vote.

Very simply, voters select a Pacer of the Year and a Trotter of the Year, and one of those two becomes their Horse of the Year.

In 2014, Sweet Lou was voted Pacer of the Year over JK She’salady by one vote (74-73), but the anomaly occurred when a greater number of voters that selected JK She’salady for Pacer of the Year also voted for her as their Horse of the Year, thus she won Horse of the Year by five votes (57-52) over Sweet Lou.

It was the first and only time to date that either Pacer of the Year or Trotter of the Year was not voted Horse of the Year.

It took many years for USHWA to agree on naming their annual awards. Billy Haughton’s name was suggested, which, with a nod to the Oscars, would have had them referred to as the “Billys.” Niatross was also in the mix, as were a few others, but when the voting took place, Dan Patch came out on top.

In 2012, USHWA made it official by adding the branding Dan Patch Awards to their bylaws, while in 2017 they changed back to announcing Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year, and Horse of the Year live at the Dan Patch Awards Banquet.

Although some years may be less mysterious than others when it comes to Horse of the Year, if not Pacer and Trotter as well, it’s the years when it’s not black and white that gets people talking and choosing sides.

Some perfect examples are in 2004, when 3-year-old pacing filly Rainbow Blue took HOY honors (119-98) over Triple Crown winner Windsong’s Legacy, or in 2006’s anticipated battle of the “Glides,” that didn’t actually materialize when 3-year-old colt trotter Glidemaster was named Horse of the Year over 3-year-old filly trotter Passionate Glide (119-39).

There are no guarantees that USHWA will stick with this format of announcing Pacer, Trotter, and Horse of the Year live at their banquet, since they’ve already shown that they don’t mind changing things up. Remember, for several years they even announced two candidates for some of their divisional honors.

So, appreciate the mystery while it lasts, and don’t forget to check out USHWA’s Facebook Page on Sunday night to see the envelopes get opened.