It’s always special when a horse or human gets inducted into a Hall of Fame. Countless horsepeople and scores of equines have participated in harness racing since its inception, but harness racing’s Halls of Fame honour the best of the best. When it was recently announced that the great Odies Fame will be inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame this summer, it meant even more for one particular person.
One cannot think of Odies Fame without instantly thinking of her co-owning trainer, Buddy (Harold) Wellwood. As an article by CTV News London explains, Wellwood passed away unexpectedly in 2000 and ‘Odie’ passed four years later, in 2004.
Last fall, Buddy’s daughter, Nicole, was featured in the mainstream media across Canada. Her seven-year-old son, Evan Leversage, was the boy whose town of St. George brought him Christmas in October because he was terminally ill with brain cancer. Evan passed away on December 6.
When hearing of Odie’s induction into the Hall, Nicole took to her Facebook page to reflect on the situation.
“Dad I know you will be watching over Evan till we meet again,” she wrote. “I am so proud of you dad and honestly feel thankful that you are being honoured. Odie proved how amazing of a horseman you were!”
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame 2016 Induction Ceremony will be hosted at the Mississauga Convention Centre on Wednesday, August 3, 2016.
Located at Woodbine Racetrack, Toronto, Ont., the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is a national organization dedicated to honouring the best in Canadian horse racing as we preserve the history and heritage of the sport.
(With files from CTV News London)
VERY well
VERY well deserved
Congratulations