Five local high school students started to prepare this weekend for the 2014 Tioga Downs Scholarship Race. The scholarship race is set to take place on June 1st, and five local students are each working with a veteran Tioga Downs horseman to learn the basics of horsemanship preparation. After three weekends of preparation, students and their partner horsemen will be racing in a double-seated jog cart during the scholarship race. The Harness Horse Breeders of New York State and the Southern Tier Harness Horsemen’s Association will then be giving out $8,700 in scholarship money, with the winner earning a $3,000 scholarship, with prizes for the remaining finishers as well, each earning at least $1,000. The students include Shania Shaver of Candor, Kayla Martin of Newark Valley, Megan Vanvorce of Binghamton, Jason Hill of Maine-Endwell, and Rachael Oltmer of Union-Endicott.
