Community Rallies For Retired Horseman

One of the most selfless individuals in Cape Breton is now the one in need after losing all but one of his possessions in a fire on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Harold Delaney of Dutch Brook, N.S. was eating his breakfast on that Saturday morning after putting some wood on the wood stove in his shed before changing his winter tires. He noticed smoke coming from the shed's eves, then rushed to check on the status of his shed.

“As soon as I opened the door -- poof -- that’s how quick it went up,” he told the Cape Breton Post. The fire spread to his adjacent mobile home, where he's lived since 1973. By the time fire crews arrived on the scene, the buildings were beyond saving.

With little that could be done, Delaney rushed back into the blaze despite the first responders trying to stop him. He grabbed a photo of his late wife, Norma, that hung on his wall to preserve her memory. Norma passed away last August after a long illness, one that took its toll on Harold. He spent three years travelling back and forth to Halifax while she was sick, and during that time of distraction and worry he allowed his home insurance to lapse.

“My mother was his pride and joy,” said Delaney's daughter, Karen Hawco. “The insurance came due and he couldn’t deal with it right then as he was going through so much. He just forgot after that.”

Karen Hawco holding Shift Again after a win at Tartan Downs with Harold Delaney driving

One to offer help much sooner than ask for it, Delaney initially resisted efforts from friends to rebuild. Ardon Mofford wasn't about to let Delaney's pride stand in the way.

Mofford, the chef and owner of The Governor's Pub in Sydney, knows Delaney through the harness racing industry and set up a GoFundMe page for Harold. Mofford kicked it off with the first donation.

"His granddaughter works for my wife at our gift shop," Mofford told Trot Insider, "and she was crying in the barn on Saturday. I was like 'what's wrong, Kortney?' and she said that he lost his trailer. I said 'let's set up a GoFundMe' and she was like 'he won't let me, he's too proud, he won't take anything from anybody' and I said 'too bad for him, I'll set it up'."

Mofford notes that while Delaney isn't an active participant on the racetrack, he's still a regular at both Cape Breton ovals.

"He's at Northside on Saturday afternoons and you see him every Sunday and Wednesday at Inverness," said Mofford, a former racing judge who's now also managing a small stable of horses. "I would see Harold for the last 16-plus years every time I pulled into Inverness, have a yarn with him, have a chat. He'd be sitting in his chair, the first guy there."

Mofford was also interviewed as part of a feature on Delaney that aired Friday on CTV News.

Mofford will have to quickly change his focus to on-track activities as his older pacer Bet On Art is one of six horses that qualified for the final of the Governor's Cup Series at Northside. Interestingly enough, Mofford is racing in the series he helped established as his Governor's Pub is the series namesake.

"For me, it's an all-win anyway If you would have told me, at 53 years old, I'd go out there and race competitively and be in the race that I've been putting on for the last 10 years..." said Mofford half in disbelief. "I kind of set it up quite a few years ago just to support the Cape Breton horsemen and put a race on for them.

"I bought that horse off Lindsey Kerr in Ontario, brought him home and he stared racing well for me. Then I was like 'wow, I'm in the Governor's Cup!"

Not helping Mofford's chances on Saturday is that the three favourites in the race -- Southwind Ricardo, Johnnie Jack and Intended Royalty -- all drew to his inside.

"One thing that's for sure, there won't be any dead traffic in front me!" Mofford laughed.