Kevin Seymour was tonight awarded the Caduceus Club Living Legend, celebrating his contribution and success as part of the Victorian Harness Racing Awards night at Melton Entertainment Park.
From selling racebooks at Albion Park as a teenager to a life-defining wager on a horse he wanted to buy, Seymour has immersed himself in the sport he loves for more than 60 years.
A successful $200 investment at 10/1 on Crazy Chief at Albion Park enabled a young Seymour to purchase the horse and commence his foray into ownership.
By Seymour’s own admission his wife, Kaye, was the driving force behind his subsequent progression into breeding along with his various roles in administration.
Seymour first ventured into the breeding industry more than 50 years ago when he established Egmont Park Stud in Toowoomba.
A piece of advice still rings in Seymour’s ears after all these years: ‘Put the best to the best and hope for the best’.
And Kevin and Kaye have done their best to uphold that proven adage.
Among those horses bred by Seymour are Victoria Derby and Group 1 winner Colt Thirty One along with other Group 1 winners Good Lookin Girl, Majestic Mach, Joys A Babe, and Cool And Classy.
Egmont Park Stud stallions have sired four-time Inter Dominion champion Blacks A Fake along with fellow Inter Dominion winner Westburn Grant and dual Miracle Mile winner Be Good Johnny.
Seymour changed the fabric of harness racing when he purchased the pacer Mr Feelgood from America and the horse subsequently took out the 2009 Inter Dominion along with other multiple Group 1 events.
In recent years Seymour’s association with Grant Dixon has proven a successful formula at selecting future stars on the race track from the yearling sales.
At the 2020 yearling sales Seymour and Dixon struck paydirt.
A $17,000 purchase, Group 1 winner Tims A Trooper has won more than $565,000 in stake earnings.
But it was the outlay of $47,5000 for a son of Bettors Delight which has suitably rewarded Seymour for his lifelong contribution to harness racing.
The winner of more $5.8m, Leap To Fame has amassed more prizemoney than any other horse and has cemented himself as one of the best pacers in the world and ever seen in this country.
With 16 Group 1s among his 66 wins, Leap To Fame has been named Australian Horse Of The Year for the third consecutive year.
Among his Group 1 successes are the 2023 and 2025 Inter Dominion Finals, the 2024 and 2026 Miracle Miles, the 2024 Hunter Cup, The Blacks A Fake and three Derbies.
Leap To Fame is one of the few horses who have transcended the sport.
A highly successful businessman in the construction industry, Seymour has held every position at both Club level and on the National Body.
Seymour was the inaugural Chairman of the Queensland Sires Stakes Committee which introduced the Sires Stakes racing for Queensland bred horses.
Seymour was also the inaugural Chairman of Australian Gold Sales and Race Series and personally underwrote the costs to provide industry confidence until it was financially sound.
In 1999 Seymour was presented with the JP Stratton Award for his contribution to harness racing and in 2005 was awarded the prestigious Order of Australia Medal for services to business, the racing industry and community.
In 2008 Seymour was admitted into the Harness Racing Hall Of Fame and in 2012 was presented with the rarely awarded prestigious Ern Manea Medal for his long standing and continued support of the Inter Dominion.
In 2019 Seymour was made Patron of the South Australian Harness Racing Club after being instrumental in helping the Club turn its finances around.
Seymour has also played a key role in the redevelopment of Albion Park and is assisting with the Master Planning- when the project is completed it will return around $300m plus to the Queensland Racing Industry.
In 2023 Seymour canvassed the concept of a slot race to several administrators and NSW board members and hence The Eureka was born.
Seymour is reluctant to acknowledge his sizeable legacy in harness racing, instead he readily extols what harness racing has done for him.
Nevertheless, Seymour along with Kaye has made a contribution to the harness racing industry in this country which is unparalleled and he will leave the sport far richer for his outstanding commitment to the industry.
