John G. Hayes (1917–1998), was a harness racing driver/trainer/owner.
Born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, he was the son of a dairy farmer who went on to become a prominent figure in harness racing and the first Canadian to be selected to the Little Brown Jug's Wall of Fame. His greatest accomplishment was in training horses in particular when he developed the great champion, Strike Out.
A longtime director of the Canadian Trotting Association, for ten years John Hayes served as its president and was Vice-Chairman of the Ontario Racing Commission.
The managing partner of Beejay Stables in Oshawa, it had been Hayes' lifelong dream to win the Little Brown Jug. Famous for having told a newspaper reporter: "I'd rather win the Little Brown Jug than go to heaven," when he died in 1998, the Little Brown Jug itself, won by Strike Out in 1972, was placed at the head of his casket.
In 1991, John Hayes was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hayes, John G. |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | harness racing driver, trainer and owner |
| Date of birth | 1917 |
| Place of birth | Oshawa, Ontario |
| Date of death | 1998 |
| Place of death | |
Famous quotes containing the words john and/or hayes:
“This is my commandment, that ye love one another.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in John 15:12.
“One point in my public life: I did all I could for the reform of the civil service, for the building up of the South, for a sound currency, etc., etc., but I never forgot my party.... I knew that all good measures would suffer if my Administration was followed by the defeat of my party. Result, a great victory in 1880. Executive and legislature both completely Republican.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)