Hall of Fame

 



ray i. remmen

Year of Induction: 
1998
Year of Birth: 
1947
DriverTrainer: 
Yes
Driver: 
Yes
Election Into Living Hall of Fame: 
1997
Biography: 

Born on May 28, 1947, this native of Saskatoon, Canada is also a member of the Canadian Hall of Fame. He is best remembered for Horse of the Year (1990) Beach Towel and for winning the first Hambletonian held at The Meadowlands (1981) with Shiaway St. Pat.

Ray Remmen's career in the sulky and as a trainer began in 1963 and includes more than 2,700 wins and $32 million in purses. Before Beach Towel, who set a single-season record with just over $2 million in purses, Remmen's greatest success was Halcyon, the 1986 Two-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year. Among her wins were a Rosecroft track record and a Breeders Crown division. Over the years Remmen has driven many other fine horses including Bonnie And Clyde, Broadway Blue, Keyser Lobell and Duchess Faye. The horse he is most remembered for is 1990 Horse of the Year Beach Towel, who set his lifetime mark of 1:50 in the first heat of the Hayes Memorial at DuQuoin, Illinois; up to that point making him the third fastest racehorse of all time. Although Remmen has cut back on his driving in recent years, in 1996 he found the winner's circle with two outstanding three-year-old pacing geldings, New Jersey Classic final victor Falcons Scooter and Provincial Cup winner Beach Ray.

A favorite at the Meadowlands, where he has driven every year since it opened in 1976, Ray Remmen has more than 1,000 wins to his credit as a trainer, thus operating that track's most successful stable.

Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1998 Souvenir Journal