A celebration of retirement will be held on Saturday (June 20) at Exhibition Park Raceway for aged pacing horse Skippy as Horse Racing New Brunswick, Greenhawk, Shur Gain and Debbie Mahar have stepped up to salute the classy 14-year-old son son of Camluck.
Harold Defazio owns the iron-sided pacer who has accumulated more than $82,000 in career earnings and took a lifetime best of 1:56.3 at Bangor Raceway. One of his biggest wins on the Maritime racing circuit was back in 2015 as he captured the prestigious Walter Dale Memorial for his regular pilot Mark Haig.
Defazio, purchased the son of Camluck in Ontario back in 2012, and since then the horse has become so much more than just a racehorse; he is a member of the Defazio family.
Many races, road trips to other tracks including south of the border, the colourful Defazio has decided it's time to give the horse a well-earned retirement. He had hoped 2020 would Skippy's final year of racing, but after prepping him for the season and getting him ready to qualify he could tell that something was off with the horse. Defazio decided then it was time to call it a career for Skippy, who retires with 29 wins.
Skippy will be trackside after the fourth race on Saturday afternoon at Exhibition Park. Local sponsors Greenhawk and Shur Gain have co-sponsored gifts of celebration including some much-deserved treats, a grooming bag, and a plaque and cooler donated by Debbie Mahar.
On behalf of Horse Racing New Brunswick, congratulations to Harold & Sandra Defazio who have always treated the horse as part of their family with lots of TLC, treats, and pampering during his time since arriving on the scene in 2012.
First post time for the Saturday card at EPR is at 1:00 p.m. To view the entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Exhibition Park Raceway.
(HRNB)