Harness: Newton "Yogi" Sheridan chosen USHWA Amateur Driver of the Year
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Newton “Yogi” Sheridan has been chosen as the U.S. Harness Writers Association (USHWA) Amateur Driver of the Year for 2024 in a vote conducted by USHWA with the amateur driving clubs.
Sheridan, 46, was emotional when told he was chosen.
“It's humbling for me to get the award and I'm honored,” said Sheridan, who thanked God for his blessings and thanked his wife, Nickeya, and four children, Naeem, Mekhi, Khalani, and Khalia, for their constant support. “I do this for them.”
Unlike many other amateur drivers, harness racing is Sheridan’s only profession. He currently trains four, one of which he owns; he also owns a piece of two others with his partners, Team Tritton.
Sheridan is having a career year on all fronts, with career highs in wins (77), seconds (61), and thirds (51). In 2024, he hit the board on 189 occasions from 391 starts, an outstanding top-three percentage of 48.
Although he has recorded multiple wins at seven different tracks this season, he has recorded the most at the toughest place to get a victory, The Meadowlands.
Sheridan’s 25 wins at The Big M — 22 against amateur company and three against the pros — were most impressive. He is currently 14th in The Meadowlands’ driver standings, with every pilot in front of him having at least 100 more starts.
Of those with more dash wins, Sheridan’s 14.5-win percentage is on par with Todd McCarthy and higher than Jordan Stratton, Andy Miller, Tim Tetrick, Jonathan Ahle, Brett Beckwith and Braxten Boyd.
Meadowlands Amateur Driving Club President Joe Lee said he’s proud of Sheridan and what he’s accomplished this year.
“He's been working really hard and driving both the amateur races and overnight races and Yogi is very safe out there, which is first and foremost,” said Lee, who won the Amateur Award himself in 2017. “He makes our races a lot cleaner and a lot safer when he's got a horse in the event.
“And he's done a really good job of keeping a horse going in the stretch and getting them to dig in when someone's getting at him late in the mile.
“Certainly, there's been a couple of times this year when coming off the turn I'm like, ‘Oh, I still have a lot of horse left and I can maybe run him down,’ but I couldn't catch him.
“Obviously, he's gotten some really good opportunities this year to drive a little power, but even when you have the power, you have to put the horses in a good spot.”
Sheridan is also tied for 14th in the driver standings at Harrah’s Philadelphia, where his win percentage of 32.8 is the best of the top 25.
Sheridan will be feted at the Dan Patch Awards banquet, presented by Caesars Entertainment, at Rosen Centre in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.
Dinner tickets can be ordered here and room reservations at Rosen Centre here for the star-studded Dan Patch Awards weekend. Additional information is available at the USHWA website. Sponsorship opportunities for the event can be procured from sponsorship chairman Shawn Wiles at swiles@rwcatskills.com. Information regarding congratulatory advertisements in the souvenir journal will be available shortly.
In addition, USHWA is pleased to present the schedule for the announcing of the Dan Patch Award winners for 2024, which will take place in the days around Christmas.
On Tuesday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, the 12 divisional racehorse Dan Patch champions will be announced during the “pre-game” program for a noon card on the Harrah’s Philadelphia signal (Harrah’s Philly is one of the tracks operated by Dan Patch Awards Banquet presenters Caesars Entertainment).
Fans should be watching by 11 a.m. (EST) for the presentation, which will feature the champion racehorses of 2024 – with the note that Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year, and Horse of the Year will first be announced LIVE during the Dan Patch Awards Banquet on Sunday, Feb. 23. This presentation will also be shown live on the YouTube page of the United States Trotting Association (USTA).
The non-racehorse Dan Patch Awards – which will include the Stan Bergstein Proximity Award, the most prestigious award voted on solely by USHWA – will be announced on the Thursday (Dec. 26) and Friday (Dec. 27) following Christmas. There will be a morning and an afternoon press release each day to the media, to cover the 13 award winners to be honored. Plans are for the Proximity winner to be announced Thursday morning, with the others “grouped,” possibly based on a commonality of ownership, stable, breeding, or racing track or jurisdiction.
-release (US Harness Writers)