The Upstate New York Chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers’ Association has announced that longtime trainer-driver Fred Haslip will receive its 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award.
It will be presented to him in the Winner’s Circle during the Upstate Harness Writers' Association's “Night of Distinction,” which will be held at Batavia Downs Casino on Saturday, Dec. 4. The ceremony is after the fifth race, at approximately 7:50 p.m.
Haslip, 68, was one of the most sought after catch-drivers in Western New York during the 1970s and '80s, and was responsible for teaming some of the best horses to race on that circuit during that time.
The lifelong resident of Basom started driving at fairs in 1959 and scored his first pari-mutuel win in 1960. During his 51-year career he posted 2,585 lifetime driving wins and banked $6 million dollars in purse money -- doing it the hard way, mostly in overnight events in an era where purses were not what they are today.
Haslip is probably most noted for developing the former double-gaited record holder, Excalibur. He set the North American record for a double-gaited gelding when he trotted a mile in 2:03.3. That time equaled his pacing record, set in 1974, and those times combined were 4:07.1, which broke a record set in 1939.
