John Gilmour, a nine- time Monticello Raceway driving
champion, passed away on July 5th in Monticello, NY and on July 9
the raceway and many of his fellow horsemen eulogized him and is many
accomplishments of his six-decade career here at the Mighty M.
At that service, Gilmour’s all-time favorite horse My Buddy
Chimo, was walked from the paddock to middle of the racetrack in front of the
grandstand by fellow horsemen and family members. Once there they were joined
by a horde of fellow drivers, more family members, and longtime friends and
they gathered around My Buddy Chimo as Zeke Parker placed a blanket on the
horse and the emcee spoke of Gilmour’s prowess in the sulky.
The blanket had copy on both sides; one side included his
race wins and congratulated him on a great career and the other had a tongue
-in-cheek comment of Gilmour’s fierce competiveness when he competed in a horse
race.
It was well known by his fellow drivers to never try to
wrestle the lead from him once he was in command and the statement on the
blanket extolled that sentiment.
Known around the backstretch as “Sep”, Gilmour had
accumulated 4492 driving victories in his six- decade career. He was one of the
four famous Gilmour brothers which included Buddy, George and Lloyd.
Collectively they drove over 14,250 winners, mostly during the heyday of
harness racing where two-track driving daily was never an option.
Among the members of his family who were on hand for the
ceremony included; his daughters, Janet and Heather, his son Michael and
granddaughter Megan, his ex-wife April Karkos and his longtime girlfriend Vita
Yakin. Cousins Dean Gilmour and Mark Gilmour also attended as did several
nieces nephews and grandchildren.
Zeke Parker took the microphone and told the assembled crowd
of some of his experiences while racing with Gilmour. “I’d park him and he’d
park me but after the races we’d go across the street and have a beer
together,” he said. “John was a tough competitor on the race track but off the
track he was just the opposite, a real mellow easy going guy.”
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