DEWEY DEGREE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED BY SCHNITTKER AND GURAL AT TIOGA

Tim Bojarski, Zeljko Bosnjak, Nikki Branigan, Anjelka Bosnjak, Ray Schnittker, Jeff Gural, and Jason Settlemoir

Fresh off his Meadowlands Pace victory, Ray Schnittker joined Tioga Downs' principal owner Jeff Gural and members of the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association on Sunday (July 18) in the winner's circle at Tioga to present the 2010 edition of the Dewey Degree College Scholarship. This year $3,000 was awarded to two students whose grades and accomplishments stood out among all the applicants. 

Anjelka Bosnjak from Grand Valley, Ontario received one of the scholarships and was presented the check by the group. She is currently studying at the Ontario Veterinary College, pursuing her degree as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine specializing in large animal medicine. She is in her second year of graduate school and will become a licensed veterinarian with the class of 2013.

The other scholarship recipient was Chelsea Fahy from Washington, Pa. She is currently attending the University of Findlay in Ohio and has completed her first year of study with a major in pre-vet and a minor in math. She ended the year with a 3.93 GPA and an “A” in each of the 14 courses she took in the first two semesters and made the Dean's list twice. Chelsea was unable to attend the presentation due to her schedule.

Anjelka and Chelsea each received a check for $1,500.

BUDDY GILMOUR, GERRY SARAMA, AND DAVE VANCE NAMED TO UNY USHWA HOF

Tim Bojarski, Buddy Gilmour, Gerry Sarama, Anne Marie Vance, Sam Pendolino

On Saturday July 17th, UNY-USHWA introduced the first three members of their new Hall of Fame. William “Buddy” Gilmour, Gerry Sarama, and the family of the late Dave Vance were introduced in the winner's circle at Buffalo Raceway. They, along with three others to be named each from Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs, and Batavia Downs, will be inducted later this year and enshrined in the Hall which will be housed at Tioga Downs.

MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS AT  BUFFALO

 Ron Beback Jr., Earl Scheeler, Stacy Keene, Tim Bojarski, Jack Flanigen, Sam Pendolino

The best driver, trainer and horss for the month of June have been named for Buffalo Raceway, as selected by the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association.

Driver of the month is…Jack Flanigen (34 wins in 173 races, with $165,046 in earnings and a .328 UDR.)

Trainer of the month is…Ron Beback, Jr. (10 wins in 59 starts, $42,348 in earnings and a .290 UTR)

Horse of the month is…Justlikeart (3 wins in 4 starts with $10,875 in earnings). Owned by Earl Scheelar, and trained by Stacy Keene.

These awards will be given out each month to the winning participants.

JOHN CAMPBELL NAMED SPONSORS EXEMPTION FOR THE 4TH ANNUAL TIOGA DOWNS DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP COMING AUGUST 1st

One of the most decorated drivers in the history of harness racing will attempt to add another trophy to his wall on Sunday, August 1st as Hall of Fame driver John Campbell will be in Nichols, New York participating in his first Tioga Downs Drivers’ Championship.

Campbell is the all time leading catch driver in earnings with more than $269 million, has more than 10,000 wins on his resume, six Hambletonian Titles, and was also the youngest driver ever to be inducted in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame at the age of 35 in 1990.

Campbell will be joined by the top seven money earning drivers as of Monday, July 26th, and the leading money winning driver at Tioga Downs. Purses for the Drivers’ Championship races will be increased by 20% and horses finishing sixth through ninth will each receive $100.00 for being entered in the Drivers’ Championship. 

The following drivers could be competing in the 2010 Driver’s Championship:

1. Tim Tetrick: “The Bionic Man” has been on a roll and heading into stakes season has mounts such as Put On A Show and One More Laugh. With more than $5 million in earnings Tetrick leads the way more than halfway through June.

2. George Brennan: “The Minister of Speed” has been on fire at The Meadowlands in 2010, and with stakes season rolling in to form Brennan steers the best Free For All Pacer in the business with Shark Gesture.

3. Jason Bartlett: 2009 Defending Drivers’ Champion, Jason Bartlett is the leading driver at Yonkers Raceway and is in perfect positioning to defend his crown. The fourth annual Drivers’ Championship will also feature a Jason Bartlett bobblehead giveaway in honor of his 2009 victory.

4. Ron Pierce: Ron Pierce has participated in all three of the Drivers’ Championships, and was a win away from capturing it in 2009 until he was beaten in the 5/8th’s mile Dash For the Cash.

5. Brian Sears: Sears was co-champion with Yannick Gingras in 2007 in the inaugural Drivers’ Championship, and has competed in all three at Tioga Downs.

6. Dave Palone: Just inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame,  Palone has been the leading driver at The Meadows in Southwestern Pa. for more than 20 years and will be the newest inductee into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York in July.

7. Yannick Gingras: Gingras was co-champion with Brian Sears in 2007, and took home the outright title in 2008. Gingras has steered top free for all pacer Foiled Again to victory on many occasions in 2010 and will continue to be a threat in the top events.

8. Bruce Ranger: Tioga Downs leading money winning driver thus far in 2010. Ranger currently leads Corey Braden by $17,000. This is the first year that Ranger has made his summer stop at Tioga Downs.


Sponsors Exemption: Who will the 2010 sponsors exemption be? There is plenty of racing left to be done and plenty of money to be won, stay tuned to see which nine drivers compete for more than $43,000 in prize money on Sunday, August 1st at Tioga Downs.

We would like to thank our sponsors who make this event possible: Accumark Digital, Allerage Farms, All Events Engraving, Big Dee’s Tack and Vet Supplies, Binghamton Senators, Bow River Jewelry, CGL, Clear Channel Community Press Paper, Delaware County Fair, Horsemen and Fair World, Hub International, Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, LP Ciminelli, L.V. Harkness & Company, Maine Source, Oakdale Mall, Roberts Communication Network, STHHA, Stueben Farm, Tele-photo Technologies, Tioga Downs, and Winbak Farm. 

 ANJELKA BOSNJAK AND CHELSEA FAHY RECEIVE DEWEY DEGREE SCHOLARSHIPS

                      Anjelka Bosnjak                                                            Chelsea Fahy

The Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association is proud to announce the recipients of the 2010 edition of the Dewey Degree College Scholarship are Anjelka Bosnjak and Chelsea Fahy.

This year, UNY-USHWA had a large response of applicants and the field of eligible students was stellar. After the committee spent days reading over the transcripts, references, and essays, the group was narrowed to two. We then realized that both girls were scholastically outstanding and worthy of the award so it was decided we would recognize them both and each will receive a check for $1,500.00.

Anjelka Bosnjak is from Grand Valley, Ontario. Her parents Nikki Branigan and Zeljko Bosnjak have been breeding and racing standardbreds for as long as she can remember. She started working in their barn at age 4 and had her groom’s license by age 10. Her love for horses eventually made her realize she wanted to make it her career.

She enrolled at the University of Guelph where she graduated with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biological Sciences in 2007. She is currently studying at the Ontario Veterinary College pursuing her degree as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. She is in her second year of study and will be graduating as a licensed Veterinarian with the class of 2013.

Although she carried a 3.5 GPA upon graduation, Anjelka was not accepted to the Veterinary program on her first try. She took 11 non-degree science courses in 2008 and then re-applied in 2009, where she was accepted. Since then she has excelled in the course scoring “A’s” in biochemistry, veterinary medicine, clinical medicine, health management and medical genetics.

One of her Professor’s described Anjelka as “dedicated to work and work ethic, is a quick learner, has an eye for detail, has excellent leadership skills, applies knowledge well and is quick to question results and procedures. She has simply done outstanding with all her course work.”

Anjelka is currently working at McMaster-Powell Equine Services. Other veterinarians and clinics that helped mentor her are Dr. Terry Ruch from the Barrie Equine Clinic, Dr. Jodi Kendrew, Dr. Richard Bryson and Linwood Veterinary Services.

Her perseverance towards her ultimate goal of becoming a veterinarian and the excellence of her work once that opportunity presented itself are reasons why we felt Anjelka Bosnjak was deserving of this award.

Chelsea Fahy is from Washington, PA and is the daughter of Moira and Bill Fahy. Moira had her own stable before marrying Bill, who is most notable for campaigning the likes of Western Hanover and Jenna’s Beach Boy.

She is currently attending the University of Findlay in Ohio and has completed her first year of study with a major in pre-vet and a minor in math. Her transcripts show a 3.93 GPA and an “A” next to each of the 14 courses she took in the first two semesters. And oh yes, she made the Deans list twice. Did I mention she aced Calculus II and outperformed everyone in U of Findlay’s Pharmacy program in that course?

On top of her heavy course load, Chelsea also works two part time jobs, interns at the Canon Hill Veterinary Clinic at the Meadows, and helps her parents with their racing stable.

After getting her degree, Chelsea plans on strengthening the sport of harness racing by first strengthening the immune systems of its horses. She wants to educate people to use alternative methods of health care on harness horses in order to reduce the unexpected side effects of currently used methods. She wrote “I believe my education in veterinary medicine and my innate skills, along with my passion and commitment to the harness racing industry will allow me to be a leader in the future of harness racing.”

One of her Professors wrote of Chelsea “She has a great work ethic, pays attention to detail, inspires trust in others, has excellent communication skills, has shown herself to be a loyal friend, consistently shows concern over other people’s welfare, and is an asset to our University.” Dr. Nicholas Loutsion who Fahy works with commented “You would be hard pressed to find a young person who is motivated, is a self starter, who has a thirst for knowledge, as well as being an intelligent, caring, and well grounded individual. All these attributes must be used when describing this fantastic young lady!”

Congratulations to these two industry leaders of tomorrow. The formal check presentations will be made at Tioga Downs next month.

The Dewey Degree Scholarship was initiated by generous donations from Ray Schnittker and Jeff Gural and is administered by the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association. It was named after Schnittker’s great Hambletonian winning trotter Deweycheatumnhowe who is currently standing at Westwind Farm in Strathroy, Ontario. 

UNY-USHWA HALL OF FAME TO OPEN

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 UNY 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, NY. There will also be a Hall of Fame page on this 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 the link at located at the top of our homepage.

There will be a total of twelve individuals enshrined each year, three from each of the four tracks. These twelve 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 twelve will be officially inducted at a dinner honoring them at Vernon Downs to be held in conjunction with the USTA District 7 meetings.

Finally, everyone voting for their favorites for the hall will be entered into a random drawing for 2 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
                                            Vernon Downs-August 30 

TIOGA DOWNS AND VERNON DOWNS 2010 MEDIA GUIDES ARE NOW AVAILABLE

A plethora of information for horsemen and fans alike is available in the new 2010 editions of the Tioga and Vernon Downs Media Guides. Pictures, records, bios, race dates, and stake information highlight this years volumes. Click the links below to get yours today!

Tioga Downs

Vernon Downs

UPSTATE NY USHWA WEBSITE HAS HAD OVER 120,000 HITS SINCE ITS INCEPTION

In the two years we have been online, our readership has grown steadily. We are now one of the most sought after sources for racing news online in New York State outside of the Big Apple. Horsemen and fans alike from Tioga, Vernon, Buffalo and Batavia (not to mention others) regularly log on for the latest news, information and pictures from their favorite Upstate New York tracks and we thank you for the opportunity to supply this information to you.