Yonkers, NY (My Sportsbook) - Three-year-old champion trotter Muscle Hill has been voted harness racing's Horse of the Year for 2009. The colt was also named Trotter of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association (USHWA).

The Dan Patch awards for excellence in harness racing were presented to owners of the sport's brightest stars on Sunday night at Yonkers Raceway.

Pacer of the Year for 2009 went to Well Said who had previously been voted champion three-year-old male pacer. Well Said, winner of the North America Cup, Meadowlands Pace and Little Brown Jug. earned nearly $2 million in 2009 with 10 wins in 14 starts.

Muscle Hill was undefeated in 12 starts for 2009 and earned $2.45 million. Trained by Greg Peck and driven by Brian Sears, the trotter won the Kentucky Futurity, Canadian Trotting Classic and World Trotting Derby, along with the Hambletonian. For 2008 Muscle Hill was voted the top two-year-old male trotter.

"I think somewhere along the line we expected somebody to challenge him, and they really didn't," Peck said. "And then we started to say, well, maybe the crop (of three-year-old trotters) wasn't that good. No, I think he made them that way. I think they were actually a very good crop."

The USHWA also presented its President's Award to Yonkers Raceway Vice President and General Manager Bob Galterio, Meadowlands Racetrack statistician Bob 'Hollywood' Heyden and leading drug expert in equine toxicology Dr. George Maylin.

The 2009 President's Award was selected by USHWA president Debbie Little.

"I am proud to honor these three men that have done so much good for our sport," said Little. "Their integrity and dedication is without question and we should all be proud that they are fighting the good fight for harness racing."

Muscle Hill received 164 of 173 votes for Horse of the Year and is the seventh consecutive three-year-old to garner harness racing's top honor. Now in his first year as a stallion at Southwind Farms, the colt raced for Jerry Silva, TLP Stable, Southwind Farm and Muscle Hill Racing.

Muscle Hill equaled the world record for the mile at 1:50 1/5 when he won the Hambletonian at The Meadowlands last August.

Here are the 2009 Dan Patch Award winners that were announced in December:

Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly - Fancy Filly

Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt - Sportswriter

Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly - Poof Shes Gone

Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt - Lucky Chucky

Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly - Yellow Diamond

Three-Year-Old Pacing Colt - Well Said

Three-Year-Old Trotting Filly - Broadway Schooner

Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt - Muscle Hill

Older Pacing Mare - Southwind Tempo

Older Pacing Horse - Won The West

Older Trotting Mare - Buck I St Pat

Older Trotting Horse - Lucky Jim