Tony Infilise, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Quebec Jockey Club, is proud to announce the nomination of Mr. Raymond Lemay as Honourary Chairman of the Prix d’Été, the signature event of horse racing industry in Quebec in 2014.
"We are very pleased that Mr. Lemay has accepted our invitation. For over twenty years Mr. Lemay has contributed to the tremendous growth of horse racing in the country and was the promoter of a race called Prix d’Été that became one of the most popular events in North America in the years 1970-80,” said Infilise.
Former President of the Canada Steamship Lines, Raymond Lemay began in Richelieu Park in 1953 and became, in 1970, President of Blue Bonnets and Richelieu Park racetracks. During his tenure at the head of Montreal racetracks, he gave fame to horse racing industry and helped the Blue Bonnets racetrack to become a prestigious destination with events such as the Prix d'Été and many major horse races in North America.
Raymond Lemay was awarded the Order of Canada for all his community actions, honoured with the Jerusalem Cross by the Association des Scouts du Canada and inducted into the horse racing Hall of Fame in Canada, the Quebec cycling Hall of Fame and Quebec Sports Hall of Fame, as a builder. He also participated in many other social and sports activities, including the Presidency of the Cycling World Championship, held in Montreal in 1974. Treasurer of the Canadian Olympic Association, Raymond Lemay has served as Executive Vice President at Quebecor from 1989 to 2001 and member of the board of Quebecor World until 2003 and Quebecor inc. until 2005. Being a coveted administrator, he had the privilege of working with leaders of the caliber of Maurice Michaud, Donat Simard, Jean-Louis Lévesque, Paul Desmarais, Paul Martin, and Pierre Péladeau.
Originally from Saint-Roch district of Quebec, Mr. Lemay has actively participated in the creation of the Jean Béliveau Foundation and he took care for decades of the Centre Immaculée Conception with Father Marcel De la Sablonnière.
"Mr. Lemay was a great builder in Quebec and a main promoter of our industry. We are re-launching an event that has enjoyed a great popularity under its aegis. He has always advocated rigorously the integrity of the industry, a value adopted and defended with much conviction by the Quebec Jockey Club. We want to pay him a tribute on the occasion of the Prix d’Été 2014 ", concluded Mr. Infilise.
Le Prix d’Été is the biggest horse racing in North America for four-year-old pacers horses and will be held Sunday, September 21 at the Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivières.
(Quebec Jockey Club)