Longtime horseman Howard Okusko Sr., who not only was part of the construction team that built Vernon Downs in the early 1950s but also trained his stable of horses at the New York harness racetrack since it opened in 1954, passed away Thursday afternoon, May 20, in St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, N.Y. after a brief illness. He was 86.
Mr. Okusko was born in Utica, N.Y. on Jan. 9, 1935. He attended St. Francis De Sales School and resided in the area his entire life.
“My dad never left Vernon Downs, when he always could have,” said Mr. Okusko’s son, Howard Jr., also one of Vernon Downs’ leading trainers and drivers through the years. “He always stayed at Vernon.”
Mr. Okusko proudly served his country in the United States Marine Corp from 1953-55 when he was honourably discharged.
Prior to his involvement with Vernon Downs and harness racing, Mr. Okusko and his wife Carol operated the Utica Dry Cleaning Company and then the Utica Paint Company. The two had been married just short of 64 years when Carol passed away in July 2019 at age 83.
Through the years, Mr. Okusko’s stable included several winners on the New York Sire Stakes circuit, including champions Skeptical Howie (1994), Bobs Wizzard (2001) and Donnas Girl (2003 and 2004). He also trained a local fan favourite in the gray trotter Lotto S Collins. Overall, he trained the winners of 800 races and $5.94 million since the U.S. Trotting Association began keeping trainer stats in 1991.
Mr. Okusko was well known for his horsemanship and advice to his peers.
“Most owners have a trainer in mind from the beginning, they just don’t know how to pick out a horse, so I do it for them,” Mr. Okusko was quoted as saying in an article printed in 2014 in the Oneida Daily Dispatch. “If they don’t like what one trainer is doing with a horse, they will take it to another one.”
Mr. Okusko also played a role in the purchase of the world champion trotter Moni Maker when the yearling was sold at the 1994 Tattersalls Sale in Lexington, Ky. for $87,000. Moni Maker went on to earn more than $5.5 million and twice was voted U.S. Horse of the Year.
“My dad and Carlyle Smith (one of the original owners of Moni Maker) were there when they picked out Moni Maker (named Nursery Rhyme at the time) and I was with them when they were sitting on the bench trying to make the decision to buy,” remembered Howard Jr. “Carlyle asked my dad what he should do, and my dad said, ‘Carlyle, if you like the horse then go ahead and buy her.'”
In addition to working in the barn with Smith, Mr. Okusko also worked alongside several other trainers through the years, including Buddy Regan and Dan Gernatt.
“My dad was still jogging horses as of last year,” said Howard Jr.
Mr. Okusko is survived his his son, Billy (Shawn) Okusko of Sherrill and Howard Jr. (Jessica) Okusko of Vernon, granddaughter Candice (John) Phelps, grandson, Jan (Casey) Okusko, great-grandchildren Layne, Elin, Mila, Jameson, Josephine and Jasper, also grandchildren Austin (Liz) Garofalo, Oliver, Kayla and Blair Prentice and Derek Bryant (Veronica). Also surviving are nieces; Cheryl VanSlake, Debbie Canatales, Diane De’Amora and nephews John Robinson, Bob MaGee and John MaGee and special friends, Liz Chandler, Rick Papa, Nelly Garnsey, Collen Carlson and Hope Mahady. In addition to his wife, Carol, he was preceded in death by a daughter, Shari.
Visitation will be held Sunday, May 23, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at the Malecki Funeral Home, 21 Front Street, Vernon, N.Y. Private burial will be at a later date in New Forest Cemetery in Utica.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Howard Okusko, Sr.
(USTA)