Stormont Northstar, the winningest horse in the history of Harrington Raceway, pokes his head out his stall every day and wonders what is going on

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He sees other horses getting ready for their workouts and wants to be part of the action. Those days, though, are over for the battle-tested trotter.

All horses celebrate their birthdays on January 1, regardless of their actual date of birth, and Stormont Northstar reached harness racing's mandatory retirement age of 15. Stormont Northstar, who won 72 times and earned $600,873 in his career, was among 55 14-year-olds that raced at least once in 2008.

On January 9, Stormont Northstar was honoured with a Special Achievement Award from the Delaware Standardbred Owners Association at the organization's annual awards dinner. Stormont Northstar, who raced in Canada as a two and three-year-old, won 35 races at Harrington during his career.

"It's real sad," trainer Bob Stevenson said about Stormont Northstar's career coming to an end. "He's been one of a kind; he's a tough old horse. He's just a horse that loves to go to the track; it's like taking a kid to toy land. Since he's retired, he's got no idea what's going on. He can't understand why he's not getting the harness on him. When you pull the
trailer up, he wants to get on and go race. Those days are gone."

Stevenson and his 12-year-old grandson, Eric Davis, are listed as the owners of Stormont Northstar, although Janet and Eddie Davis Jr.'s J&E Stable was part of the ownership for much of the past decade. Eddie Davis Jr. drove the horse in nearly all his starts during that time.

Stormont Northstar, who is related on his mother's side to Mystic Park (the first trotter to eclipse 2:00 at Roosevelt Raceway and father of Mack Lobell), proved his toughness by overcoming a string of injuries at ages 10 and 11. He raced only seven times during those seasons, but afterward won 22 races and nearly $150,000.

"He's just been amazing. You can't count him out," Stevenson said. "He's just been a good horse and a pleasure to be around."

Last December 10, Stormont Northstar made his final start. He won by three-quarters of a length in 2:00 at Dover Downs and pushed his lifetime earnings over $600,000, which probably led to him receiving his favourite snack - Rice Krispies Treats.

"That was real nice. I wanted him to go out a winner," Stevenson said. "That's my wife's (Diana) favourite horse. That's her pet. She thinks more of him than she does of me. He's been spoiled.

"He's got a home for life; he'll never go anywhere. He took care of us for a while, so now it's our turn."

(Harness Racing Communications)