It’s December, the holiday season, and time for readers of the NEWS to make their selection for the Harness Horse of the Year for 2000.

Each year, during the cold, winter season, when racing is tough, most owners and trainers opt to pasture their horses and give them a well-deserved, three-month rest. Scarborough Downs remains the only race track still operating in New England. But that all comes to a halt this Sunday, when the seaside track closes down for two months, re-opening on Saturday, March 3 for the 2001 racing season. Post time for Scarborough’s final weekend of racing in 2000 is 12 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

But, during the holiday season, when racing has been drastically reduced, if not halted altogether, horsemen’s groups begin planning their annual winter meetings, spend some time reflecting on performances during the past racing season, and plan for next season.

The first horsemen’s group to hold its annual winter meeting is The Down East Harness Horsemen’s Association on Friday, Jan. 12, in the Crystal Room at Miller’s Restaurant in Bangor. Several awards will be presented to owners of outstanding horses who raced at the Bangor extended meet this year.

Another special award will also be presented – The Bangor Daily News Harness Horse of the Year. This annual NEWS award has been part of the DEHHA winter meeting since 1985, when Zelda Pierce of Newport and her horse, Fuel Pincher, trained by Warren Strout of Bradford, won the first reader’s award. Last year, BDN readers selected Gypsy, Roosevelt Susi’s outstanding Maine Sire Stakes filly, as their selection for the top newspaper-sponsored award.

This annual award was initiated to offer NEWS readers an opportunity to participate and select, with official ballots, the trotter or pacer they believe gave its best at Bangor Raceway’s extended meet and at Maine racing fairs and afforded the reader the most enjoyment and excitement. Again this year, the award will be decided by NEWS reader votes.

The ballot will appear here on the sports pages to allow NEWS readers to vote for the horse they believe merits the coveted honor by its ability to excite and entertain each time it competes on a Maine race track.

The horse NEWS readers choose need not have been the fastest, winningest or the most successful at Bangor’s harness meet, but rather a horse that was fun to watch and brought them back to the race track each week during Bangor’s commercial meet or to a racing fair.

The contest rules have not been changed since it began in 1985 and remain relatively simple:

. Select the horse that gave you the most entertainment during the 2000 Bangor Raceway season or at a Maine racing fair;

. The nominated horse must be Maine-owned and have had at least five starts in Maine during the 2000 racing season;

. All entries must be signed and submitted by midnight, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000;

. Enter as many times as you wish, but each nomination must be submitted on the official BDN ballot found on this sports page. No copies or faxes will be accepted;

. The winning horse and owner will be announced at the DEHHA winter awards banquet on Friday, Jan. 12.

The winning owner will be presented with an engraved silver bowl, compliments of the BDN, designating his or her horse as the “fans’ favorite” for 2000, and the winning horse’s name and date will be engraved on a larger, permanent silver bowl with previous winners on display at the BDN.

The winning horse will also have its name and date inscribed on a plaque as part of a permanent display and record in the foyer of Miller’s Post Time off-track wagering facility in Bangor.

Tickets for the Jan. 12 DEHHA winter awards meeting and banquet are $13 each for Miller’s and can be purchased at DEHHA, P.O. Box 1963, Bangor 04412 or by calling Wenday Glaster at 588-0581, Joan Corbett at 942-6197 or Dotty Ward at 989-4739.