Grant E. "Gene" Riegle (June 3, 1928 – October 17, 2011) was an American

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

driver and trainer. He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1992. Riegle started his harness racing career in 1950. His father, Roy Riegle, was also a driver and trainer. Roy Riegle and his wife were killed in a 1957 auto accident. At the 1972 Little Brown Jug, Riegle drove Jay Time who was the odds on favorite before the race. Jay Time, who finished in a dead heat with

Strike Out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...

one month earlier in the

Adios Pace The Adios Pace is a horse race for three-year-old Standardbred colts and geldings run annually since 1967 at a distance of one mile at Meadows Racetrack in North Strabane Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. Historical race events The 1972 ...

, was scratched after the first heat due to a high temperature. During the 1981

Woodrow Wilson Pace The Woodrow Wilson Pace was a harness racing major event for two-year-old Standardbred pacers run from 1977 through 2012 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey. First run in 1977 for a purse of $280,000, by 1980 the purse wa ...

held at

Meadowlands Raceway The Meadowlands Racetrack (currently referred to as Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment) is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness ...

, Riegle was thrown from his

sulky A sulky is a lightweight cart with two wheels and a seat for the driver, generally pulled by horses or dogs. With horses, a sulky is used for harness racing. The term is also used for an arch-mounted cart on wheels or crawler tracks, used in ...

while driving Andre Hanover in the process of trying to avoid a fallen horse. He suffered minor abrasions. 1992 Harness racing horse of the year,

Artsplace Artsplace (1988–2006) was a champion Standardbred horse who was the 1992 American Harness Horse of the Year. Racing career Artsplace was harness racing's champion two-year-old in 1990, where he notably set a world record for 2-year-old pa ...

, was trained by Riegle. In 1990, Riegle along with

Bruce Nickells Bruce Nickells (born July 5, 1928) is an American harness racing driver and trainer. Nickells was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame on July 4, 2016. Biography Nickells, who grew up in Princeton, Illinois, began working with harness r ...

, were awarded the Glen Garnsey Trophy as United States Trainer of the Year. Riegle trained 1993 Little Brown Jug winner, Life Sign. Riegle died at his

Greenville, Ohio Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Darke County, Ohio, United States, located near the western edge of Ohio about 33 miles northwest of Dayton. The population was 13,227 at the 2010 census. History Historic Native American tribes in ...

home on October 17, 2011.Gene Riegle, 83, Hall of Fame driver/trainer, dies
/ref>

References

External links

Gene Riegle at Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riegle, Gene 1928 births 2011 deaths American harness racers Dan Patch Award winners People from Greenville, Ohio United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Ohio