America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has Standardbred representation

Gordon Waterstone

Lexington, KY — America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit was first held in 1924, with the festivities always bringing out overflow crowds along Woodward Avenue. The Grand Marshal for this year’s parade on Thursday (Nov. 25) was former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, with several local Olympic medalists also participating.

Harness racing also received representation when Renae Parsons, the track photographer at Northville Downs, rode the 15-year-old pacer Silver Sunset as part of a six-horse contingent representing Camp Casey, a Michigan-based non-profit that involves horses and children with terminal illnesses.

Participating as part of the “Parade Brigade” for Camp Casey, Parsons adorned herself with a Batman costume as she rode along the three-mile route down Woodward.

Renae Parsons adorned herself with a Batman costume as she rode along the three-mile route down Woodward. Photo courtesy of Renae Parsons.

“At Camp Casey we always choose super-heroes and I wanted something that was going to be regal and suit my horse’s personality, and Batman did that,” the 32-year-old Parsons explained of her choice of costumes. “It was raining so I took a garbage bag and cut a head hole and arm holes and wore that as part of my costume.

“Because Batman is so popular and a super hero, all the kids were yelling ‘Batman, Batman,'” she added. “‘Sunny’ was great with the crowd. Everybody really liked him. This was so much fun. The TV part started at 10 and we were in the middle and came on at 11:15.”

Parsons said Thanksgiving Day was the second parade she and Silver Sunset had participated in; the first was a Memorial Day parade earlier this year in Royal Oak, not far from where Hazel Park Raceway formerly stood.

“We did the parade on Memorial Day, which was about a half-mile,” said Parsons, who besides her photography business, Renae Mona Photography, also serves as a veterinary technician for Veterinary Care Specialists in Milford. “He wanted to go and visit all the kids; he put his nose in someone’s stroller. He was so good and did just great.”

Silver Sunset’s racing career saw him win 41 of 265 starts, including a win in an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold at two in 2008 and a lifetime mark of 1:52 taken at five in 2011 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with $363,344 in earnings. She purchased the son of No Pan Intended shortly after he made his last career start on April 20, 2019 at Northville Downs from owner-trainer Tim Leineke.

Including Silver Sunset, Parsons has five other horses on her five-acre farm in Fenton, Mich. One of her quintet is a 5-month-old Standardbred filly named The Pricey Time that she plans on training to race at two in 2023.

As for Camp Casey, Parsons said the non-profit does “horsey house calls,” where horses are brought to the homes of children who have terminal illnesses.

“They take horses that pass their standards to the homes of kids who have terminal illnesses so they can visit with the horses,” said Parsons. “I volunteer every year to be part of what we call the Parade Brigade for Camp Casey. This was my first year taking my Standardbred and he did great. I also do some dressage with him.”

Parsons said that Silver Sunset’s next parade is scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day next March in Corktown in downtown Detroit.

Back to Top

Share via