It’s sad to report the passing of Len Hunter, one of Victorian harness racing’s most prolific owners a number of years back.
Len and his family have a long history in the sport, as does his brother Alan who still holds an interest to this day.
The boys followed in the footsteps of their father Len (Snr) whose business Oxford Cleaning Products became one of the leading companies and provided products to a large cliental Australia-wide including ‘Oxford Shoe Polish’ and the original ‘Pine O Cleen’. Len was to later register the Big H Chemical Company.
Len raced numerous horses over the years at one stage trained by the late Kevin Innes.
After joining the Ted Demmler stable, he enjoyed his greatest moments with a mare by the name of Highly Likely during the 1980s. This included the 1987 Australasian Trotting Championship, trained and driven by Demmler, while carrying his colours of blue with a yellow H.
He also raced horses with Alan, one of which was Sir Vance.
Len was instrumental in the formation of the Caduceus Club in 1984, citing that the galloping community had their Carbine Club and harness racing should have an equivalent. He was the inaugural president.
After retiring to the Gold Coast, Len was elected president of the Gold Coast Harness Racing Club and held that position for a five or six year period, welcoming Victorian visitors with open arms.
A celebration of Len’s life will be held at the Sandringham Yacht Club, 32 Jetty Road, Sandringham on Tuesday, December 10 commencing at 2pm.
Harness Racing Victoria sends sincere condolences to the Hunter family.
