by Dean A. Hoffman

Tucson, AZ — Well known horse racing photographer John E. Jones, 81, died Nov. 2, 2013, in Markham, Ontario, after a long illness.

Born in Toronto in 1932, his interest in photography was developed while a student of agriculture at the University of Guelph when he began photographing livestock.

His skills at capturing horses in action landed Mr. Jones a position with Michael Burns Photography. For 18 years he worked as a track photographer for the Ontario Jockey Club’s family of racetracks throughout the province of Ontario, photographing both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing. He was one of the official track photographers working at Woodbine the day Secretariat ran his last race there in October 1973.

After forming his own company in the late 1970s, Mr. Jones became one of the best known photographers of harness racing in Canada until his retirement in 1997. His iconic images appeared in every major harness racing publication in Canada and many in the United States, including Hoof Beats magazine. His beautiful black and white action shots taken from the inside rail during the home stretch battle to the wire became his signature.

His photo of Niatross setting a world record time trial of 1:49.1 at The Red Mile in the fall of 1980 brought Mr. Jones international attention when John Cashman, then manager of Castleton Farm, used the photo to promote the young stallion.