The New England harness racing community lost one of its most venerable institutions this past weekend when John DeFiore passed away after a brief illness.
DeFiore, the mutuel manager at Plainridge Racecourse since its opening in 1999, was best known for his voice. He sang The Star Spangled Banner, or on occasion his favoured ‘God Bless America,’ to open each live racing program at the Massachusetts track.
Though customer service work was Mr. DeFiore's primary responsibility at Plainridge, it was his daily singing duties in which he took even more pride. In recognition of his daily vocal performances, Hoof Beats magazine gave him its ‘Perfect Pitch Award’ as part of the Golden Hoof Awards in 2006.
"To be recognized for my musical ability is a boost to my past ego," he said at the time.
The pride that the Golden Hoof Award obviously brought DeFiore reminds us of his notable career in the music industry. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he played and or taught music from the time he was 12 years old until he was into his fifties. He was a well skilled performer on both trumpet and jazz guitar, and played big band jazz in the area and also operated Solid Gold, a music store in Natick, Mass., for many years.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret; children, John and Theresa (Alan) DeFiore Woodward; grandsons, Matthew Bond and Justin Bond; and many cousins and friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Wounded Warrior Project, 150 Cambridge Park Dr., Suite 202, Cambridge, MA 02140. They may also be reached at 617-588-4000 or at woundedwarriorproject.org.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and fiends of John DeFiore.
(Plainridge Racecourse)