ORLANDO, Fla. — Test of Faith, a winner of 14 of 16 starts last season, is harness racing’s Horse of the Year.
The award was announced Sunday night at the annual U.S. Harness Writers Association meeting.
Test of Faith is the fourth 3-year-old filly to earn the sport’s highest honor, joining Rainbow Blue (2004), Bunny Lake (2001), and Fan Hanover (1981). She received 85 of the 146 votes cast by the association’s members. Niki Hill, the leading 2-year-old filly pacer, was a distant second with 19 votes.
A model of consistency, Test of Faith finished second in the two races she didn’t win for the team of trainer Brett Pelling and driver David Miller. She earned $1.06 million for the partnership of Melvin Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable and Eddie Gran.
Pelling has trained two Horse of the Year winners with Test Of Faith joining Rocknroll Hanover (2005). Miller was the regular driver of two previous Horse of the Year honorees, Always B Miki (2016) and No Pan Intended (2003).
Other honorees included Dexter Dunn as Driver of the Year and Richard “Nifty” Norman as Trainer of the Year.