Gerry Kazmaier, 75, dies

Columbus, OH — Trainer and driver Gerald T. “Gerry” Kazmaier, 75, originally of Far Hills, N.J., died at his home in Pompano Beach, Fla., on Dec. 4, 2018.

An alumnus of Bernardsville (N.J.) High School, Mr. Kazmaier began his driving career at Saratoga in the early 1960s and was hired by leading Canadian trainer Roger Lareau soon after to drive for his stable. He went on to enjoy success all across North America through a career which spanned thousands of miles and six decades.

He won the first race ever contested at Phoenix (Ariz.) Trotting Park in 1965, and nearly a thousand others as a driver in his career up to his retirement in 2013. His best season in the bike was 1999, when he won 75 races and earned nearly $300,000 in purses while competing exclusively on the California circuit.

Mr. Kazmaier notably drove Ru Girl in her California Sire Stakes starts at two, three and four, and the pair teamed up for 11 wins over stakes company in the Golden State. Additionally, Mr. Kazmaier earned track records at Cal Expo, Los Alamitos, Hazel Park, Centennial Park and Fraser Downs through the course of his career, many with his own trainees.

His homebred Summer Fashion won the 1994 Surrey Cup at Cloverdale Raceway (now Fraser Downs) in British Columbia, and his trotter Cellebrity Force still holds a 1:57 track record for 3-year-old trotting geldings at Cal Expo, which he took in 2005.

While much of his success came in the western half of the continent, Mr. Kazmaier captured a training and driving title at Freehold Raceway in the 1980s, snapping Hervé Filion’s 10-year streak atop the driver standings.

Mr. Kazmaier, who was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Martin, is survived by his longtime partner, Ron Goldman; brothers, Daniel and Richard; and many nieces and nephews.

Back to Top

Share via