Visitation will be held in Montreal on Saturday, March 10 for longtime horseman Claude Emond, who passed away at a health care facility in Joliette this month at the age of 76.
His daughter, Suzanne, a familiar racetrack presence herself as the longtime director of customer service at Hippodrome de Montreal, said her father had a number of health issues over the last decade, including lung cancer. “He’d moved in to the same centre as my uncle Guy (a colourful Quebec entertainer) just two weeks prior to passing.”
Emond, who did triple duty as trainer, driver and groom, never had a large stable and his victories were scarce at Blue Bonnets, but Suzanne said few people were happier in their work.
“He got a horse from his grandmother when he was a kid and that was it. He absolutely loved horses. He got his start in Standardbreds with the Turcotte family. He was a man of few words, but he always got up happy, eager to get started. He told me often, ‘whatever you choose to do, you better like it, because you’ll work 75 per cent of your life.’”
Emond’s career summaries show 65 wins as a driver and 54 as a trainer. His last drive was in 2004, his final bow as a trainer in 2007.
Emond’s best horse was Landry Rapide, a winner of more than $100,000 that he trained from the age of 18 months to age 13. In 1989, when the horse was in the midst of lengthy losing streak, Emond said in a newspaper interview that he preferred to race him in tougher classes than risk losing him in a claiming race.
“My problem is that I like my horses too much,” he said. “The guys who get ahead in this sport are the ones who treat it like a business, buying and getting rid of horses all the time.”
Claude Emond is survived by Suzanne, brothers Guy, Jean and Andre, sister Michelle, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 1 to 4 p.m. March 10 at Lajeunesse Fortin Cenac, 8005 Notre Dame E., Montreal.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Claude Emond.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)
Mes sinceres condoleances a
Mes sinceres condoleances a la famille de Claude et surtout a toi Suzanne pour la perte de ton papa. Claude etait un ami sincere, s'il pouvait t'aider, sa lui faisait un grand plaisir de le faire. Souvent je lui demandait des conseilles. R.I.P. Claude.