Ray Remmen News Today

This week's Rewind Robert Smith offers the monthly feature called 'Years Ago'. This time all of his short stories and old photos are based in the decade of the 1980's, thus about 40 - 45 years ago.

In this week's edition of 'Rewind ' Robert Smith offers up a few short stories about people, perhaps places and things, all from the past of harness racing. As usual a few old pictures are included.

In this week's Rewind Robert Smith recalls the 1984 Canadian Pacing Derby and its outcome at Greenwood Raceway. Always an annual fan favourite, this race added yet another chapter to its long and interesting history on that day now close to 40 years ago.  

August 8

Eight trainers in history have won the Meadowlands Racetrack’s two premier harness racing events, the Meadowlands Pace and Hambletonian Stakes. Ake Svanstedt will try to add his name to the list on Saturday.

The monthly edition of Years Ago is the feature of 'Rewind' this week, as Robert Smith takes a look at the decade of the 1990s

The latest weekly Rewind column is the monthly edition of Years Ago and this time all of the topics and old photos are from the decade of the 1970's.

Last Comment: June 12, 2021 11:19 am ET | 1 Comment(s) | Jump to Comments This weeks edition of Rewind recalls a memorable horse from the mid 1970s named Jambo Dancer. Robert Smith covers a portion of this talented performers racing career thanks in large part to the input of his longtime trainer. A few old photos are a part of the story of this well remembered horse as well as a couple of trivia questions. Trainer Kent Baker appears with Jambo Dancer in this 1976 photo. Both horse and train...

A few excerpts from UPI Sports described some of the events. The only losing favourite Topnotcher with Doug Brown driving, gave way grudgingly just before the wire after a gutsy late battle with 69-1 shot Bays Fella driven by fellow Canadian Paul MacDonell in the aged pacing divisions for colts and geldings. (Note the win payoff of $140.60 stood as the highest in Breeders Crown history for some 18 years.) Beach Towel with Ray Remmen driving became the first harness horse to crash the $2 milli...

When the Meadowlands Racetrack opened on Sept. 1, 1976, a 16-year-old John Calabrese was in attendance. The new facility was less than 10 minutes from his childhood home in North Jersey, and it gave Calabrese his first-ever look at harness racing. “It was such a big thing when they built the (football) stadium and the racetrack,” Calabrese said. “There were so many commercials on TV, so much fanfare about it, so we went to the track. It was fabulous. That was it. “My father and I and my...