Glidemaster Takes Honor

Trotting Triple Crown winner Glidemaster was named 2006 Horse of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association at the annual Dan Patch Awards dinner Sunday at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City. The winner of a trotting single-season record $1.9 million, Glidemaster got 119 votes to defeat 3-Year-Old Filly Trotter of the Year Passionate Glide, who received 39.

Ten horses received at least one vote for the award.

Glidemaster won the Hambletonian in stakes-record time and added the Kentucky Futurity and Yonkers Trot to sweep the Triple Crown. In addition to Horse of the Year, he was named 3-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year and Trotter of the Year.

He was trained by Blair Burgess, whose pacer Real Desire was 2002 Horse of the Year. Burgess joins Stanley Dancer, Billy Haughton and Clint Hodgins as trainers to earn the honor with a horse on each gait. John Campbell drove Glidemaster for most of the year until being sidelined by a broken leg in October. George Brennan took over in the sulky for the colt’s final two starts, including the Yonkers Trot.

Glidemaster is owned by Robert Burgess, Karin Olsson-Burgess, Marsha Cohen and Brittany Farms.

Passionate Glide, trained by Jimmy Takter and driven by Ron Pierce, won 13 of 15 races and earned nearly $1.1 million to claim her second consecutive Dan Patch Award; she was the 2-year-old champ in 2005. Her victories included the Hambletonian Oaks, Delvin Miller Memorial and Kentucky Filly Futurity.

Other honorees were Total Truth, who defeated older male pacer honoree Lis Mara by nine votes for Pacer of the Year in addition to winning 3-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year; Donato Hanover, as 2-year-old colt trotter; Pampered Princess, the 2-year-old filly trotter; Sand Vic, as older male trotter; Peaceful Way, the older female trotter; Artzina, as 2-year-old colt pacer; Isabella Blue Chip, the 2-year-old filly pacer; Darlin’s Delight, 3-year-old filly pacer; and Burning Point, as older female pacer.

The awards for Peaceful Way and Burning Point were the second of their careers.
Peaceful Way was the top older female trotter in 2005 while Burning Point was voted best 3-year-old filly pacer in 2003. (Harness Racing Communications)

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