Samuel 'Skip' Lewis Passes
Longtime trainer/driver Samuel 'Skip' Lewis, 82, passed away on July 18 after a brief illness.
He was born April 22, 1932, in New Jersey and lived in Apopka, Fla., since 1972.
Mr. Lewis spent his pre-teen years in Kingston, Pa., and later at Patterson, N.J., where his parents operated a chicken farm. At 12 he began working as a part-time groom at Willow Brook Farm and later, in 1945, at Roosevelt.
He served under Bill Fleming and Charlie Fitzpatrick before starting out on his own in 1963. Mr. Lewis started training horses at Ben White Raceway in Florida in 1968. He reached the pinnacle of the sport when he trained Historic Freight to a victory in the 1984 Hambletonian.
He was the owner of Rolling Hills Farm in both Apopka and Montgomery, N.Y. and was a former chairman of the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival.
Mr. Lewis is survived by his loving wife, Lillian; children, Karen Lewis New, Donald P. and Michael G.; grandchildren, Brenton M. New and Marc Akther; sister, Marylin Maxwell; and brother, Howard.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Skip Lewis.
(USTA)
Skip had a big impact on
Skip had a big impact on Maritime breeding when he sent Knightly Blue Chip to stand at George Rileys farm on PEI. His yearlings made an immediate and lasting impact and his first crop included the first sub 2.00 two year old in the Maritimes. The fillies went on to considerable success in the regions broodmare ranks. I had the honour of hosting Skip when he came up to PEI to attend the annual PEI Colt Stakes sale to see the first KBC yearlings sell - he was a true gentleman of the sport.