On Saturday, March 13, an enthusiastic group of Arabian racing fans gathered in Houston, Texas for the 23rd annual Darley Awards ceremony sponsored by the Arabian Racing Cup (ARC). Attendees were on hand to witness who would be taking home the coveted trophies designed by artist Karen Kasper.
Prior to the awards being handed out, a stallion breeding and silent auction were held to raise funds to support the ARC and Darley Awards. All totaled, the event raised $28,565.
Master of Ceremonies Paul Husband came on stage to introduce the nominees and announce the winners. Sand Witchh (Burning Sand x Tornade Du Loup, by Tornado De Syrah) was the big winner of the evening taking home Horse of the Year as well as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. Breeder and previous owner Dianne Waldron along with Sharon Clark, representing current owner Guy Neivens, were on hand to accept the trophy. Sand Witchh was undefeated in 5 starts, including 4 stakes victories. The complete list of winners is as follows:
Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Filly - Sand Witchh, owned by Guy Neivens
Champion 3-Year-Old Colt - Quite A Show, owned by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Champion 4-Year-Old Colt and Champion Sprinter - Qjuick Sand PW, owned by Warren Shelley
Champion 4-Year-Old Filly - Dixies Valentine, owned by Guy Neivens
Champion Older Horse – Thoroughbred, owned by Guy Neivens
Champion Older Mare - Rolly Polly, owned by Ken and Nancy Blewett
Champion Owner - Guy Neivens
Champion Trainer - Helen Shelley
Champion Jockey - William Hollick
Champion Breeder - Dianne Waldron
An exciting change announced by Ted Wright, chief steward of the ARC, had to do with expanding the voting for the Darley Awards. Beginning with 2010, an entity that nominates a horse into the ARC program is eligible to vote on the selected Darley nominees for the current year. An individual will only get one vote regardless of how many horses that person nominates, and if that person serves on a board that already receives a vote, that person will still only receive one vote. Also, the list resets every year so in order to vote each year, the entity must nominate a horse each year.
The 24th Annual Darley Awards is tentatively scheduled in Texas for February 2011. For more information, check back to this website often, sign up for announcements here, or call 1-800-458-4283.
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