Caretaker of the Year Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Tosies gets dream season from Lexus Kody
by Debbie Little
For Joseph “Jo Jo” Tosies, being chosen to receive the 2025 Fair Island Farm Caretaker of the Year was more about his horses than himself, especially Lexus Kody.
Owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, and Phil Collura, Lexus Kody, trained by Ron Burke and driven by Yannick Gingras, had an incredible season in 2025, which according to members of the Burke Brigade, was due in no small part to Tosies calming effect.
Owner Larry Karr, who’s been with the Burkes since 2002, said “Kody” wouldn’t have been the same horse in 2025 without Tosies.
“There’s really no question in my mind about that,” Karr said. “So, you know, to get that recognition is so great, especially a guy like this, such a humble person. If you know Jo Jo at all, he’s so mild mannered and he loves his horses so much. I think we’re all so thankful that the committee recognized the strength of that nomination.”
Tosies, 60, discovered harness racing as a teenager when he and his brother Ricky and their childhood friends, John and Kevin McDermott, used to take the bus from Kearny, NJ to The Meadowlands.
Jo Jo was also named the 2025 Caretaker of the Year at The Meadowlands, the place where his love for horses began.
That devotion Jo Jo has for his horses is obvious to his owners.
“He’s a different breed, he’s old school, just wears his heart on his sleeve,” said owner Mark Weaver. “I enjoy his reaction to these types of things as much as actually seeing the horse win. To me, that’s kind of what’s the most enjoyable part of the business, seeing people that love working with the horses, and he’s so appreciative. He thanks us all the time for, you know, a great place to work, and how he loves being part of the team, and it makes it extra special to know how much he appreciates it and to see him be rewarded for everything that he does.”
According to Collura, Jo Jo gets really attached to his horses.
“Hillexotic was one of our trotters, and when we sold Hillexotic, he was devastated,” Collura said of Jo Jo. “And I remember Ronnie saying, ‘I don’t want to tell him.’ He didn’t want to tell him he sold him because he was going to be devastated.”
Hillexotic being sold was difficult for Jo Jo, but luckily Kody was there waiting in the wings.
“I’m a dreamer, and when I lost Hillexotic, it was the worst day of my life because I thought he was taking me to the mountain top… he wasn’t staked really heavy, but he made almost a million dollars just in overnights,” Jo Jo said. “It gets me emotional so I try not to think about it, because just now I almost started crying. It’s your whole life. I’ve always loved what I do. I’m passionate. I throw myself into it, and when you get Kody that dream comes true.”
In total, the Burke Brigade is connected to nine awards, both human and equine, that will be presented at the Dan Patch Awards banquet on Sunday (Feb. 22), but for both Collura and Karr, Jo Jo being honored stands out the most.
“If you told me I could have Horse of the Year or Jo Jo wins Groom of the Year, it’s not even a contest, I would have picked Jo Jo to win Groom of the Year,” Collura said. “To be honest with you, I don’t really go to the awards. I think the last awards I went to was in 2012 when [Sweet] Lou got Pacer of the Year; I didn’t go for Louprint last year. I love to win them, but I’m just not big on going, but this year I’m going because Jo Jo got Groom of the Year. That’s the reason I’m going. I really want to see him get that, like that means a lot to me. He loves his work and he’s such a humble guy, too.”
Karr, who wrote one of the letters nominating Jo Jo for Caretaker of the Year, said, “We’ve got so many good people who are part of the team, especially the caretakers. I mean, as good a year as it was for us, I mean this award for Jo Jo, I’m so happy. I’m going to be so happy to be there to have him accept that award. It’s just fantastic.”
Jo Jo has been a member of the Burke Brigade for eight years now, working at their New Jersey stable under the guidance of second trainer Murph Murphy, who Jo Jo said is “one of the best in the business.”
The now 8-year-old Lexus Kody came under Jo Jo’s care when he was 4, and he’d be the first to tell you that gelded son of Archangel—Lexus Helios had some breaking issues, but for the most part, things were different in 2025.
“Early last year I was joking with Ronnie when he was going out to train [Lexus Kody], and I said, ‘You’re going to sit behind the Aged Trotter of the Year, save me a seat in Florida next January so I can be there to accept his award for Aged Trotter of the Year,” Jo Jo said with a laugh. “And Ronnie just smiled at me and said, ‘Jo Jo, you’re always the optimist. That’s a long way off, buddy.’”
Even when others would tell Jo Jo, “He’s fast, but…” he never lost faith that Lexus Kody was a good horse.
“That’s what drives me, because I love horses that are underdogs,” Jo Jo said. “I know it’s probably not a good way, but it was like me and Kody against the world, we’ll show you. And usually, nine times out of 10 it doesn’t work out. But in his case, boy did it work out.”
Jo Jo and Kody against the world is exactly what it was when the invitation to the million-dollar Yonkers International Trot came. The only problem was that Jo Jo ended up in the hospital a few days before the race.
“I had a big sore on my foot, and I went to the hospital and it was infected,” Jo Jo said. “So, when they admitted me, the first thing I said was, ‘How long am I going to be in here?’”
Jo Jo told everyone on the hospital staff that his godson’s wedding was that Saturday and it was a once-in-a-lifetime situation.
“I really wasn’t lying, because the Trot was a once in a lifetime deal,” Jo Jo said with a laugh. “They took X-rays, and I asked the doctor, ‘Why did you guys take X-rays of my foot?’ He said, ‘We were preparing if the infection didn’t heal, I was afraid I was going to have to take your foot.’ And I just started crying.”
After taking multiple cultures and testing his blood several times a day, Jo Jo was cleared to go to “the wedding” provided he followed all of their instructions and was back in the hospital on Tuesday so they could do surgery to remove a small bone from his foot.
Seeing Lexus Kody win the International Trot was something that Jo Jo will never forget.
“Honestly, I’m getting chills thinking about it,” he said. “It’s something that I would have regretted the rest of my life. I’d have been happy that he won, but it would have killed me if I wasn’t there and he is very calm when I’m around.
“I love what I do, but it’s not an easy job, and that’s why I respect every caretaker that cares. It helps keep me kind of young, to be honest with you, because the years go by, but I still have the same passion and feel the same. Kody’s mellowed out and I’ve mellowed out each year.
“In the hospital, it’s weird, you start to reflect, and you start to realize you’re not invincible. And one of the things that went through my mind is, if I couldn’t look after horses, it would break my heart, because I truly love what I do, and it gave me an appreciation, and kind of reinvigorated me, and gave me back that sense of why I do it. When you get older, you have experiences like that, and it kind of was like a wake-up call. I love what I do. I really do.”
It’s perhaps no surprise that Jo Jo was raring to get back to work as soon as possible after his surgery.
“When I was out [after the surgery], I was in a hurry to get back because of Kody, and Ronnie [Burke] was the first person to say to me, ‘Jo Jo, your health’s more important,’” Jo Jo said. “So, he cares about me. I know that. And when he mentioned on FanDuel Day, ‘I want to give all the credit in the world to his groom,’ that meant more to me than anything, because I have so much respect for him. He’s not only a great trainer, he’s a great man.”
In regard to this weekend’s O’Brien Awards and the fact that Lexus Kody, despite being Ontario-sired and Ontario-bred, is not eligible, Jo Jo didn’t have much to say except how badly he felt for breeder Norm Dunstan.
“This man was going to be there to accept the award… how do you do that?” Jo Jo said. “I mean, all of a sudden there’s a rule that the Breeders Crown doesn’t count if it’s on Canadian soil? Isn’t that even more special?
“Here’s a guy that’s old. He just sold his farm. The mare just passed, who he had forever, and he’s looking forward to watching a horse that he bred receive an O’Brien award, and it’s taken away from him. It just broke the guy’s heart. Shannon [Henry] told me, it broke his heart.”
There is expected to be a large Burke Brigade contingent at the Dan Patch Awards to celebrate with Jo Jo.
“The most special thing that somebody can do is have somebody’s respect, and I respect those guys so much,” Jo Jo said. “They’re the best group of owners in the world. I mean, these guys will win a million-dollar race, and they’re not happy for themselves, they’re happy for me. And that’s why I want to do good; it’s for people like that.
“Yannick’s wife Vicki sent me a text and she said, ‘We’re so happy for you. You and Kody gave us a reason to be at the Dan Patch Awards this year.’ So, supposedly, Yannick and Vicky are going because of Kody, and that’s so cool.”
Jo Jo said he’s honored to follow in the footsteps of fellow Burke caretaker Margaret Gillon who was recognized as the Fair Island Farm Caretaker of the Year in 2023.
“Margaret won it two years ago and she does a great job,” Jo Jo said. “I respect her very much as a caretaker, and she deserved it 100 per cent that year.”
Jo Jo also mentioned Alex Peralta who looked out for Lexus Kody while he was in the hospital and after surgery.
“Alex is a great caretaker,” Jo Jo said. “I don’t think he knows and I almost come to tears thinking about how much it meant to me. He had my back when I was out. He told me he looked after Kody because he knew how much he meant to me.
“So here is a friend that picked me up, and I’ll never forget that. You know, guys like him, are guys that go unnoticed.”
Jo Jo didn’t want to jinx Lexus Kody going into this year, but he said that the combination of the horse’s maturity and the phenomenal job that Yannick does driving him, gives him hope.
“I’ve been chasing Kody my whole life and to come where he came from, I mean, because, let’s be honest, nobody ever expected this year from him, and he’s that horse, he was that horse,” Jo Jo said. “And I went through the toughest point in my life, physically. I was worried about losing a foot, maybe even losing my life, and I was laying in the hospital bed; when I think of all he did for me, not enough people realize what they do for us, not what I do for him, forget about what I do for him. I couldn’t repay him in a million lifetimes.”
