Meet Deputy Maverick
A racehorse from Kentucky who won his only start is now part of the police patrol working Super Bowl 55 in Tampa, FL.
Track Shill’s story is one of many attached to Thoroughbreds who find new jobs after leaving the racetrack. Track Shill had been renamed Deputy Maverick, had joined the mounted patrol for the Lee County (Fort Myers, Fla.) Sheriff’s Department, and was retrained as a police horse.
An invitation to assist in crowd control outside Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs go at it Sunday turned this former racehorse into an instant media star in Southwest Florida.
Sadly, a last-minute injury to a ligament in his left front leg pulled him out of the Super Bowl lineup. He’ll be home, resting in his stall for 10 to 15 days as his veterinarian ordered. But he’s still a star in Fort Myers and Naples, with television stations in both cities asking for interviews with his handlers even after he was scratched from working the game…
