COURTESY TAMPA BAY DOWNS PRESS OFFICE
OLDSMAR, FL–Sharyn Wasiluk, a Thoroughbred owner and trainer who served the Tampa Bay Downs backstretch workforce for 22 years as the president of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America’s Tampa Bay Downs division, died Saturday following an extended illness. She was 77.
A native of Jamestown, N.Y., Sharyn was a lifelong horsewoman who participated in numerous shows and rodeos before finding her passion on the racetrack. She and her husband Peter Wasiluk Jr., met at Penn National more than 40 years ago and competed as a team at a variety of northern and mid-Atlantic tracks, including Tampa Bay Downs.
The couple trained 913 winners between them, including the durable Florida-bred gelding Dinner in Odem, who won the 2008 Cape Henlopen at Delaware Park and the 2009 Chris Thomas Turf Classic (now the Columbia Stakes) at Tampa Bay Downs.
But it was through her efforts to uplift the racetrack community that Sharyn made a lasting impact.
A longtime member of Tampa Bay Downs’s Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association board, Sharyn devoted her time and energy as RTCA-TBD president to improving life for the track’s grooms, hotwalkers and stable hands and their families. She helped schedule medical and dental appointments, enrolled workers in continuing education classes, organized activities such as soccer tournaments and fishing trips, and went on grocery runs for those without transportation.
Sharyn was also instrumental in securing funding for a lift to provide wheelchair access to the chaplaincy trailer and was the driving force behind the chaplaincy’s Christmas party for backstretch workers and their families. She also helped organize the annual Hearts Reaching Out benefit golf tournament.
“I know of nobody else who has put as much work, effort, thought and love and care, into taking care of the people who work on the backside,” said veterinarian Dr. Bill Owens, the newly appointed president of the RTCA-TBD.
Sharyn is survived by her husband Peter; son Phil, the assistant racing secretary at Delaware Park, and his fiancée Anne Sinchak; and daughter Jaclyn, an elementary school library media technology specialist, as well as grandsons Noah and Elijah and granddaughter Jordyn.
A mass will be held at Espiritu Santo Catholic Church at 2405 Philippe Parkway in Safety Harbor, Fla., at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 12. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Tampa Bay Downs Chaplaincy via mail at RTCA-TBD, P.O. Box 2211, Oldsmar, FL 34677.
