from harnessracing.com

Lexington, KY — Horseman Jim Raymer, 62, known for his knowledge and success with trotters, died July 8, 2015, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Mr. Raymer developed and trained many stakes-winning trotters, the richest being world champion Green Day, a $1.3 million winner who captured the 2007 Yonkers Trot and finished third in the Kentucky Futurity final.

Before trotters, Mr. Raymer didn’t know anything about horses until age 18, and worked first with endurance horses with his first wife, Mary. They decided to get involved in harness racing because they needed an income rather than ribbons. In Mr. Raymer’s early years in harness racing, he also worked as a refrigeration mechanic.

He went with the trotters because he found it to be an art and pacers more of a science. He was a self-taught blacksmith and had a gift for picking out yearlings and pedigrees, as evidenced by Green Day, who he bought for just $6,000 because he didn’t see anything wrong with the horse.

Rita Jay was his Mr. Raymer’s first horse. In addition to Green Day, those that followed included, most recently, world champion Keystone Activator (winner of the Old Oaken Bucket), Nirvana Blue Chip, Freeze Frame, and in 2014, Harley Momma and Wouldn’titbesweet, who were stakes winners at Hoosier Park.

Before that Mr. Raymer developed and trained Deanna Troy, Tasha Yar, world champion Scully FBI, Galt winner Rossini, New York Sires Stakes champ Bouncing Bax and Summertime Yankee.

He also bred Federal Flex and had Beverly Crusher, the dam of the accomplished trotters In Focus, Not Afraid and Rossini.

Mr. Raymer is survived by his wife, Terry; son, Tyler, who trains horses in partnership with his wife, Leigh; daughter, Amy (Trevor); stepsons, AJ Fort and Christopher Fort; and grandsons, Zack, Gavin and Rory.