According to a news story from harnesslink.com, “The Nitza’s Pizza story just gets better and better. It culminates Friday night at Northlands Park when a man’s good fortune and generosity, a little girl’s spirit and a special race horse’s courage are celebrated.”
“Peter Giannakopoulos, the owner of Nitza’s Pizza, will present a cheque for $3,000 — $1,000 for each of the five-year-old mare’s wins during the track’s summer thoroughbred meet – to the Stollery Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network in a ceremony between the fourth and fifth races on the card. The approximate time is 7:15,” said the story. “For those unfamiliar with the feel-good story of the year at Northlands, Giannakopoulos purchased the horse last November from Bill Ehmcke of Phoenix when friend and jockey Jake Barton found her while surfacing the internet. She had the same name as his local restaurant chain, so named for his late niece, Nitza, who died at the age of 12 of a brain tumor.”
