from harnessracing.com

Lexington, KY — Arthur “Artie” Lance Bier, 74, the father of Delaware-based horsemen Daryl and Sean Bier, died Aug. 21, 2014.

A top horseman of the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Bier’s last drive came in 2002, although he continued to train horses through 2011. One of Mr. Bier’s greatest days as a driver came on Valentine’s Day 1981 at Northfield Park when scored six wins in six drives, equaling the track mark for single-day wins at the time with Herve Filion and Lew Williams. Because of thawing, the racetrack was listed as “slow” that afternoon, and the times for his wins — all in pacing events — ranged between 2:08.3 and 2:21.3.

Following his sixth win that day with Labet’s Buddy in the $4,500 Open Pace in 2:12, Mr. Bier quipped, “I weigh only 130 pounds and my tires don’t sink down as much as some of the other guys’.”

One week later, Mr. Bier again drove Labet’s Buddy to a victory at Northfield Park, this time in a $10,000 Invitational Pace, edging the great Rambling Willie by a head.

Following his six-for-six afternoon, Mr. Bier won another race two days later, and then he took off his drives the next two days in hopes that he could set a new track record for consecutive wins as part of the excitement behind Rambling Willie’s appearance, which he did with his score behind Labet’s Buddy.

From 2005-10 Mr. Bier trained perhaps his best horse, a pacing mare owned by his wife, Esther, who died in July 2011. Racing in top-class events at the East Coast racetracks, including the Meadowlands, Riley Rose took a mark of 1:49.2 and earned $548,798.

Mr. Bier met his wife while she was working as a waitress at a restaurant across the street from Monticello Raceway. The two traveled to racetracks across the country, from Bay Meadows to Green Mountain to Northfield Park. At the time of Mrs. Bier’s death, they had been married for 48 years.

In noting his father’s death, Daryl said, “I am glad that I was able to be part of my dad’s last years. We loved horses and we had a few great ones together.

“Esther and Riley Rose were the two loves of his life. He said that when the time came he was looking forward to seeing his wife again.”

According to USTA records, Mr. Bier had 1,053 driving wins with $2.75 million in purse earnings. As a trainer, with records kept only since1991, Mr. Bier had 342 wins and $2.23 million in purse earnings.

Mr. Bier is survived by his sons, Daryl (Jenny), Sean (Crissy) and Tom (Bernadette); daughter, Danyell (Jeffrey) Long; and several grandchildren.

Viewing will be at the Arthur A. Albini Funeral Home, 1003 Church St., Jessup, PA 18434 from 6-9 p.m. on Friday (Aug. 29). Services will be held Saturday morning (Aug. 30) at the funeral home at a time to be determined later.