STANDARDBRED BREEDERS & OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY

Representing the drivers, trainers, caretakers, breeders and owners of New Jersey

64 Business Route 33

Manalapan, NJ 07726

Phone: 732-462-2357

Fax: 732-409-0741

STANDARDBRED BREEDERS & OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY

Representing the drivers, trainers, caretakers, breeders and owners of New Jersey

64 Business Route 33, Manalapan, NJ 07726 

Phone: 732-462-2357 | Fax: 732-409-0741

BACK

OBITUARY OF JOE RIZZO

Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home • December 6, 2023

Joseph Rizzo, 92, of Howell passed away peacefully surrounded by family on December 4, 2023 following a brief illness ...

FREEHOLD, NJ -- December 6, 2023 -- Joseph Rizzo, 92, of Howell passed away peacefully surrounded by family on December 4, 2023 following a brief illness.

 

Originally from Astoria, NY, Joe moved to Howell in the early 1980s with his family. Joe’s working life spanned that of many decades and varieties. Following a stint in the military, Joe played minor league baseball and later worked for Volkswagen. However, none of those pursuits could top his long and accomplished career as a trainer, owner and driver of harness racehorses.

 

Joe raced horses over 35 years at racetracks across the country. Amongst the racing community, Joe was commonly called Cyclone Joe and as he got older, the Elder Statesman. But as everyone knows, “Nobody beats the Riz”.

 

While he was a force to be reckoned with, Joe developed a reputation of integrity, warmth, and generosity.. He was known for his big smile and wit, both on and off the track. Along the way, he made countless friends, many of whom he kept in contact the rest of his life. While horses were his passion, his family is who he cherished the most. A husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Sunday dinners and holiday get-togethers won’t be the same without Pop. Joe also enjoyed tinkering around the house, known for his ingenious and sometimes unconventional repairs of everything…and anything. He will be sorely missed by those whom he knew, but remembered by the kind and truly wonderful man he was.

 

Joe was predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Dolores; daughter, Wendy Cassella; grandson, Michael Cassella; brother, Jerry; and sister, Frances. He is survived by his daughter, Donna McNichol and her husband, Gary of Freehold; grandson, Austin of Freehold; great granddaughter, Skyla; and many nieces and nephews.

 

Visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Monday, December 11, 2023 from 9:30 AM to 1:15 PM with his funeral service to begin at 1:15 PM. Entombment will follow in Woodbridge Memorial Gardens, US Route 1, Woodbridge. For information, directions, or to leave condolence messages to the family, please visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com


Visitation

9:30 am - 1:15 pm

Monday, December 11, 2023

Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home

100 Elton-Adelphia Road

Freehold Township, New Jersey, United States

Get Directions


Funeral Service

1:15 pm

Monday, December 11, 2023

Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home

100 Elton-Adelphia Road

Freehold Township, New Jersey, United States

By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations May 25, 2025
Trainer Noel Daley was on the mark Saturday night at The Meadowlands, as he schooled the winners of both $225,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals for 3-year-olds on the pace ...
By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations May 24, 2025
There was little doubt that Lexus Kody would be popular with the betting public in Friday night’s featured $25,000 winners-over trot at The Meadowlands ...
By Karen Fagliarone May 23, 2025
Gaitway Farms, Manalapan, N.J., will once again be hosting qualifiers/2-year-old races ...
By Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager May 22, 2025
Manolete is the type of horse who always strives to deliver a top effort, and trainer Bruce Saunders is expecting nothing less when the colt gets behind the starting gate for Saturday’s (May 24) $225,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes championship for 3-year-old male pacers at The Meadowlands ...
By Meadowlands Media Relations May 22, 2025
There are many factors that make The Meadowlands the No. 1 harness track in the world, but one of the biggest reasons are the big nights that permeate the calendar every year, ones that both harness fans and horsemen look forward to in a big way ...
By Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager May 22, 2025
Twin B Joe Fresh, the 2024 Dan Patch Horse of the Year, will return to the races Sunday (May 25) for her 2025 debut when she meets seven rivals in the $100,000 Grade 3 Betsy Ross Invitational for older female pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia ...
More Posts