Obituary of Robert James Quigley

QUIGLEY Robert James 90 departed this Life February 17, 2020. In Repose Monday, February 24, 2020 from 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. at St. Matthew Catholic Church-542 Blue Heron Drive, Hallandale Beach, Florida 33009. Funeral Mass at 11:00 A.M. Burial will take place in New Jersey. Arrangements by Joseph A. Scarano Presidential Circle Memorial Chapel- 4351 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood Hills, Florida 33021. Our thoughts and prayers goes out to the family. Pioneering racetrack executive Bob Quigley died Feb. 17 at age 90 of natural causes in Florida, according to the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame. At native of Atlantic City, Quigley became involved in horse racing in 1951 when he was hired by Atlantic City Racetrack. He worked as a timekeeper for the maintenance department, as an office manager, controller, in the stall department, and eventually became executive vice president and general manager, according to a Harness Museum biography on Quigley. In the late 1960s and 1970s, while at Atlantic City, Quigley introduced exacta and trifecta wagering to the sport of horse racing. Adequan Quigley would become general manager at Atlantic City from 1968 to 1975 and eventually was offered the role of GM at the as-yet unbuilt Meadowlands Racetrack. Quigley accepted the offer and was hired at the age of 46. Quigley oversaw the construction of Meadowlands, which became an innovator in customer service and helped pioneer the offering of simulcasting. The racetrack became a world-leader in Standardbred racing while offering high-quality Thoroughbred meets as well. After eight years at the Meadowlands, Quigley moved on to build another New Jersey track, Garden State Park, which had not held races since its grandstand burned down in 1977. Quigley served as Garden State Park's president until 1992. He went on to design and construct Retama Park in San Antonio, Texas, where he served as that track's president until his retirement in 1995. Quigley has served as a director and member of the executive committee of Harness Tracks of America, as a director of the U.S. Trotting Association, as a member of the Racing Advisory Board of the American Horse Council, as the president of International Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., and as a member of the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Association of America. He was inducted into the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in 2013. Quigley is the father of three surving children, son Kevin and daughters Kelly and Karen and Jimmy (Pre Deceased) and five grandchildren and 2 Great Grandchildren. He and his wife Wanda resided in Hallandale Beach, Fla. In Lieu of flowers the Quigley Family is requesting donations in Bob's name to: Harness Racing Hall of Fame- Thoroughbred Hall of Fame- Breast Cancer Research http://harnessmuseum.com/living-hall of fame http://www.racingmuseum.org http://www.bcrf.org