HRU announces its Elite Eight winners
In the fifth annual edition of The HRU Awards, our contributors make their picks for the very best of 2025 in eight categories.
Harness Racing Update is proud to present the fifth edition of The HRU Awards. We asked our contributors to give their picks for the best of 2025 in eight categories. Keep in mind, we purposely left the interpretation for each category up to the contributors. Some chose to think nationally or globally, some chose to think more regionally, focusing on the area they cover or to which they are most familiar. Contributors that felt they could not provide an educated opinion for a question left it blank.
1. HORSE OF THE YEAR
Neil Milbert: Beau Jangles. He did nothing wrong. You can’t beat perfection.
Adam Hamilton: Leap To Fame (Bettors Delight—Lettucereason—Art Major). For a third successive year, but in a much closer call this time. The emergence of Kingman (Always B Miki—Gotta Go Dali Queen—Dali) in the last few months and two defeats to Don Hugo showed the champ has more challengers than ever. Against that, he raced 22 times in 2025 for 16 wins, five seconds, and a third and banked $1.8 million.
Jay Wolf: Beau Jangles. I know he didn’t race outside of Ontario, but he was the best in his division and the sport.
Thomas Hedlund: Dream Mine (Maharajah). Jörgen Westholm’s 4-year-old proved to be outstanding within the Swedish crop. With victories in the $800,000 Swedish Derby and the $480,000 European Derby, it is clear that Dream Mine is one of the most exciting horses in Europe.
Frank Cotolo: Beau Jangles. Bound to be a great sophomore like some of the other freshmen who age with grace.
Gordon Waterstone: Tie between Miki And Minnie and Louprint. Both tough million-dollar-winning 3-year-olds traveled across the continent, both winning six times at six different racetracks.
Melissa Keith: Beau Jangles. Far from “playing it safe” by racing exclusively in Ontario, undefeated Beau Jangles won eliminations and finals for two-thirds of the only Grade 1 stakes for his division, also setting Canadian records for two different sized tracks.
Debbie Little: Louprint. He wasn’t perfect (12 10-1-0), but considering emergency surgery in July and fractured ribs in the Crown final, he was pretty close to it. He traveled and raced a tough schedule against Grand Circuit company throughout. Everybody can’t say that.
Murray Brown: Beau Jangles.
Dave Briggs: Beau Jangles. He was not only perfect, he was impressive and handily won his division’s two biggest races – the Metro and Breeders Crown – against Grand Circuit company. That he didn’t race in the U.S. holds no weight with me. It’s a borderless industry and the biggest races in his division in 2025 just happened to be in Canada.
2. PERSON(S) THAT MADE THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO HARNESS RACING IN 2025
Thomas Hedlund: Not just one person, but all the grooms who keep the industry running from the ground up.
Melissa Keith: Since 2025 appears to be the year of the racing influencer (see Griffin Johnson, Big Sport of Turfdom Award), my vote goes to the original racing influencer: The Manager (John Cutrone), who first started dancing and providing winner’s circle theatrics for Brian Sears at Yonkers in 2012. An 18-second video of The Manager posing with Matt Kakaley and filly Win With Lynlly on Dec. 17, 2025 has 2,300+ views on X (Twitter), well in excess of official harness racing year-end awards posts.
Adam Hamilton: Kevin Seymour hands down. The leviathan Queensland owner, breeder, sponsor, and benefactor should have a statue built of him. Not only does he own the great Leap To Fame to promote the game in every possible way, but he has been the driving force behind plans to redevelop and protect the future of key harness tracks Albion Park and Globe Derby. More personally, the support and doors he opened for popular Albion Park track photographer Dan Costello when doctors said he would lose a cancer fight has given him a second chance at life.
Neil Milbert: Ron Burke. He hit the Dan Patch Awards trifecta.
Frank Cotolo: Debbie Little. She handles the mass editorial duties at Harness Racing Update which is the last outpost for the sport’s journalism.
Dave Briggs: Marvin Katz. The Breeders Crown Charity Challenge he launched years ago continued to be huge in 2025. Plus, he sold a yearling for $1 million at Lexington (Dejeuner) – the second million-dollar baby he’s sold in his career – and he made further history in Harrisburg by spending $1 million or more on three horses from his partnership dissolution dispersal with Al Libfeld — mares French Champagne and French Cafe, along with weanling Parisian Cafe, the first standardbred weanling to ever be sold at auction for $1 million. He also launched his Clear Creek at Brittany breeding farm in Kentucky and topped everything off by being announced as an inductee in the 2026 class of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.
3. TRAINER OF THE YEAR
Gordon Waterstone: Ron Burke. Annually posts outstanding numbers, and in 2025 he went astronomical. His wins and earnings are simply incredible.
Frank Cotolo: Marcus Melander. Too often in the shadow of more well-known trainers, Melander sends stock to the track with dire intent and for bettors he often presents overlays.
Thomas Hedlund: Ron Burke. Always Ron Burke.
Adam Hamilton: Luke McCarthy. The older brother to U.S. stars Andy and Todd reminded everybody in 2025 what a wonderful horseman he is. He trained two different horses Kingman and Don Hugo (both pick-ups from premier trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin) to beat the great Leap To Fame a combined four times. The way he guided mighty mare Eye Keep Smiling to win 12 wins and a second from 14 starts against her own sex this season has been masterful.
Murray Brown: Ron Burke.
Melissa Keith: Dr. Ian Moore. His best year by purse winnings ($3,794,816 Can.) in his 39th official year as a trainer, led by a horse who may be his best ever. Small stable, big impact from the Canadian Hall of Famer (inducted in 2024).
Jay Wolf: Ron Burke. His stable had a two-month period (September and October) this year that may never be matched.
Dave Briggs: Ron Burke. The numbers are incredible.
4. DRIVER OF THE YEAR
Jay Wolf: Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. He was the regular pilot for two Dan Patch Award winners – Loua Dipa and Louprint, and earned a career best $9 million and recorded a .388 UDRS.
Murray Brown: Jason Bartlett.
Adam Hamilton: Goes to Luke McCarthy again for his deeds at the very highest level with Don Hugo and Kingman. He is unquestionably one of the greatest big race drivers we’ve ever seen Down Under. Have to mention young gun James Herbertson, who despite almost two months away traveling will win the Australian Drivers’ Premiership by a huge margin again. America got a glimpse of him and may well get to see a lot more in years to come.
Melissa Keith: Guy Gagnon. Rideau Carleton’s reigning champ reached a new personal best UDRS (.478) in 2025, leading North America. Not just a talented catch driver, Gagnon also reached his 2,000th career training win Oct. 8 with pacer Smokestack.
Frank Cotolo: Jacob Cutting. He began driving among veterans and was always a plus steering even mediocre stock.
Thomas Hedlund: Carl Johan Jepson in Sweden. He has taken his driving to a completely new level. No driver works harder than Aaron Merriman, and that deserves recognition. However, one driver who made a strong impression on me this summer was James MacDonald, when he climbed aboard Conversano in the Hambletonian Oaks and delivered a top-class performance.
Gordon Waterstone: Jason Bartlett. He stepped out of his comfort zone of Yonkers Raceway in 2025 and showed he can race with the best of them. First in earnings and second in wins, and added a pair of Breeders Crowns to his resume.
Dave Briggs: Tie between Jason Bartlett (a most deserving USHWA Driver of the Year) and Dexter Dunn, who drove five (six if you count his part-time work with Ervin Hanover) of the 12 Dan Patch winners announced already.
5. OWNER(S) OF THE YEAR
Adam Hamilton: Kevin Seymour for the reasons above, but in a dead-heat with the amazing, unassuming, and largely behind-the-scenes, Mick Boots. Depending on who you talk to, Boots may own as many as 300 horses across Australia and New Zealand, headed by champion stayer Swayzee. He’s a backbone to so many different stables.
Murray Brown: Dave McDuffee. He didn’t have a particularly good year, but he constantly stays at it, breeding some of his own, buying yearlings, and taking great joy in watching his horses train.
Jay Wolf: Knox Services. Despite focusing on the Midwest, they were the third leading money winning owner in the country. The Brechler family were the co-owners of a Breeders Crown champ, Sippinonsearoc, and several sire stakes champions (Ohio — Lindy Dragonwater, Seaside Shuffle, and Harrisburg Heist, Pennsylvania — Frantic Hanover, and New York — AI).
Thomas Hedlund: Stall SoFo in Sweden. For the third consecutive year, a horse owned by Stall SoFo won the $600,000 Swedish Kriterium for 3-year-old trotters (Fame And Glory, Bullet The Bluesky, Omega River). Given the relatively small number of horses they own in each crop, this achievement is nothing short of remarkable.
Gordon Waterstone: The entire Burke Brigade, including Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, and partners such as Larry Karr, Phil Collura, and Knox Services. And a lot of their 2025 success came with homebreds, which made their year even sweeter.
Dave Briggs: Burke Brigade et al.
6. RISING STAR (HUMAN)
Melissa Keith: Mathys Lapointe and Jacob Copley. 20-year-old Mathys Lapointe won 11 of 37 drives on the Circuit régional des courses de chevaux du Québec, including four wins and two place finishes from six drives on Aug. 23 at Ayer’s Cliff Fair, in only his second year of amateur driving. 17-year-old Jacob Copley (UTRS .436) sent out 19 winners from 71 starters this season at Rideau Carleton, a strong start for the high school student in his first year training.
Adam Hamilton: If 25 is young enough, then it’s James Herbertson. If you want even younger then it’s Queenslander Angus Garrard. Amazingly, the 22-year-old has driven over 100 winners for the past six years (yes, since he was 17). He almost hit 200 this year in a season where he passed 1,000 career wins and grabbed international coverage for his win in the awesome, inaugural Ladbrokes Ultimate Driver Challenge at Albion Park back in February, beating the likes of Dexter Dunn, Yannick Gingras, and Bjorn Goop.
Murray Brown: John Rallis.
Thomas Hedlund: Among drivers, the apprentice Fredrik Plassen — born in Norway and working in Sweden — who this year ranks among the top 25 drivers in Sweden.
Frank Cotolo: Jacob Cutting. He is still developing his talents as a driver and a trainer even after many others peaked.
7. RACE OF THE YEAR
Murray Brown: Beau Jangles’ Metro Pace followed by Ervin Hanover’s Breeders Crown.
Gordon Waterstone: Lexus Kody winning the Dayton Trotting Derby at Hollywood Dayton. Driver Yannick Gingras found himself pinned on the inside and shuffled to last at the three-quarters before finding room to maneuver and out closing the field. Horses — especially trotters — aren’t supposed to be able to overcome that kind of journey.
Thomas Hedlund: The Prix d’Amérique. Idao de Tillard raced virtually the entire event in the third lane.
Melissa Keith: Camluck Classic. When winning favorite Brue Hanover got airborne, leaping across the finish at The Raceway at Western Fair on May 30, a lengthy inquiry ensued. His Dave Menary stablemate Ervin Hanover was placed first, his first 2025 win, en route to divisional Dan Patch honors.
Jay Wolf: Dayton Trotting Derby. I limited this response to a race that I saw in person. Lexus Kody’s remarkable victory despite being shuffled to last early in the race, to rally and showcase his strength and resilience.
Adam Hamilton: Photo-finish and they both came late. Kingman beating Leap To Fame was one of the greatest New Zealand Cups in the 100-plus year history of the iconic race in November was incredible. But I’ll go with the Group 1 Blacks A Fake on Dec. 6 when Leap To Fame, The Janitor, and Don Hugo staged a thrilling three-horse battle down the Albion Park straight before Don Hugo won by a whisker with The Janitor a close-up third. They smashed the track record and all three were monstrous.
Dave Briggs: Lexus Kody in the Dayton Trotting Derby.
8. WHAT CONCERNS YOU THE MOST ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE SPORT OR GIVES YOU THE GREATEST OPTIMISM?
Frank Cotolo: Sports betting is a concern. It looms as a major defiance for the pari-mutuel crowd. It’s spontaneous wagering with a roulette consciousness.
Neil Milbert: The demise of Balmoral Park and Maywood Park following their 2015 meetings relegated the Chicago circuit to the verge of irrelevancy. The top horses, trainers and drivers no longer make pilgrimages to North America’s third biggest metropolitan area. Making a terrible situation worse, corporate owner Churchill Downs, Inc. shut down Arlington International Race Course — which had a treasure chest of thoroughbred racing tradition and was acclaimed “the world’s most beautiful racetrack” — following its 2021 meeting to kill competition for nearby Rivers Casino that it had acquired two years earlier. CDI spurned offers from groups that wanted to perpetuate racing at Arlington and sold it to the Chicago Bears with the stipulation that there be no gambling of any kind on the property, eliminating the possibility of a racino. To lower their property taxes, the Bears tore down the magnificent track. As a consequence, Hawthorne Race Course is the only remaining track in the metropolitan area, forcing the standardbreds and thoroughbreds to time-share, leaving both of life support. Churchill Downs is the biggest name in American racing and its decision to destroy one of the country’s most prestigious tracks in the country’s third biggest metropolitan area is sending the message that racing is a dying sport.
Jay Wolf: Concern: I would love to see more cooperation with race dates to make sure the historic Grand Circuit events remain important.
Optimism: The next crop of yearlings and the 2-year-olds turning 3.
Murray Brown: Major concern is that nobody goes to the races anymore. I am one of the guilty. We have made it so easy to stay home and watch them, that the incentive to be there has been lost. Going to the track is what made me a fan of the sport.
Adam Hamilton: Keeping the sport relevant is the biggest thing. In a world of rapidly evolving sports, keeping harness racing exciting, entertaining, and slick to new generations is the greatest challenge. Ultimately, that will shape whether we can maintain wagering interest in the sport, which is paramount to prize money Down Under.
The optimism comes from the sheer talent we will see lock horns in 2026. On the open class pacing front, I can’t wait to see all the big guns come together — Leap To Fame, Kingman, Don Hugo, Swayzee, The Janitor, Captains Knock, and even the best Kiwi, Republican Party. But it’s trotting mare Keayang Zahara that is the single most exciting. With 20 wins (and a second) from just 21 starts, the daughter of Volstead (out of Keayang Yankee, by Muscles Yankee) will have this year to conquer Down Under’s biggest races before connections look to a race like the Elitlopp and maybe the U.S. in 2027.
Thomas Hedlund: There is a strong possibility that the Swedish betting flagship V85, which replaced V75, over time, will turn out to be a failure. This would result in lower revenues for a sport that is already bleeding heavily, with declining numbers of owners, breeders, licensed participants, and — most importantly — the number of foals born each year. The situation is not yet as acute in France, but even there the betting audience is beginning to drift away.
In Sweden, hope now rests with the newly appointed CEO of the Swedish Trotting Association, Jörgen Forsberg. His previous role as CEO of Solvalla and his deep roots in the sport are factors that give us reason for optimism.
Gordon Waterstone: Harness racing needs to find new owners. There doesn’t seem to be much interest from outside the sport so it needs to find new blood from within, hopefully progeny of current owners will keep the legacy alive.
Melissa Keith: Concern: The idea that losing smaller tracks is irrelevant, or that the sport can withstand losing racetracks at the current rate. When any track dies, so does the surrounding area’s interest and participation in the sport as a whole.
Optimism: The 2025 Atlantic Classic Sale was absolutely buzzing, with record prices reflecting the quality yearlings.
Dave Briggs: Concern: The lack of owners and declining number of betting customers as sports betting grows more popular with younger gamblers. Optimism: There has never been more purse money in the game. Plus, reading old trade journals tells me people have been predicting the sport’s decline for nearly 100 years. It’s still here and more resilient than the doomsayers suggest.
