from the USTA Communications Department

Columbus, OH — Gerald Kenneth McNutt, 81, died March 15, 2015, at Wilmington Hospital after a short illness.

Mr. McNutt was born to Jannie and Charles McNutt in Bible Hill in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, on Oct. 15, 1933. He was the youngest of nine children. He grew up on a farm, and left home in his teens to pursue his goal of working in the sport of harness racing.

Over the past seven decades he served in many capacities within the harness racing industry, most notably as a leading trainer/driver who achieved more than 1,050 victories at racetracks including Batavia, Laurel, Harrington, Pompano, Monticello, Roosevelt, Yonkers, the Meadowlands and Pocono Downs. Delaware horse racing fans will remember him from his tenure at Brandywine Raceway, from the time it opened into the 1980s.

Mr. McNutt was an outgoing and energetic person who had many friends across the country. He enjoyed driving to Florida and California to visit friends and family, and had traveled to 49 of the 50 states. He loved to share his Scotch-Irish heritage and was an avid reader, interested especially in history, science and current events. He enjoyed taking long daily walks near his home in Lake Carey, and later, Wilkes Barre, Pa.

He is survived by his daughter, Margaret McNutt; granddaughter, Leah Brooks; and his extended family of friends and relatives who will miss his loyalty, generosity and sense of humor. He was preceded in death by his parents and many of his older siblings.

There are no immediate plans for a memorial.