Tag
Inter Dominion champion Captains Mistress (Captaintreacherous) headlines nominations for the SEN Victoria Cup, with the $250,000 Group 1 feature set to take place at Melton on Saturday, October 17. The star mare, who claimed this year’s Inter Dominion crown, is among 18 horses nominated for one of Victoria’s premier pacing features. Trainer Jason Grimson has […]
Harness Racing Victoria Chief Executive Officer Matt Isaacs will conclude his tenure in October, having advised the Board that he will not seek a further extension of his contract. Isaacs joined HRV in January 2023 to restore financial stability, transform the organisation and establish a sustainable platform for the future of Victorian harness racing. HRV […]
Victoria’s Summer of Glory will return in 2027 with a strengthened six-week harness racing program, a $1 million insured pacers bonus that launches with the SEN Victoria Cup, a new Regional Showdown, and the introduction of the Greg Sugars Medal. HRV CEO Matt Isaacs said Victoria would again capture the summer spotlight with blockbuster cup […]
Harness Racing Victoria laid bare the issues facing Harness Racing in the State at their annual Strategy meeting held at Bendigo on Monday evening. Chief Executive Matt Isaacs and Chairman Bernard Saundry both spoke in presenting the existing situation and what the future might hold. Both didn’t hold back in outlining the challenges facing the […]
A carefully planned harness racing breeding program devised more than 10 years ago is starting to come to fruition for Western Victorian breeder Lyndon Turner. Hailing from a beef cattle background, Turner ranks as the breeder of one of the State’s most outstanding juveniles in Cardigan Sniper, who won a heat of the APG Vicbred […]
Harness Racing Victoria has endured more than its fair share of criticism in recent years. Financial pressures, declining wagering growth and uncertainty around the future of the sport have all contributed to a difficult period. However, HRV Chief Executive Matt Isaacs believes the industry has now reached a turning point. Speaking candidly with Harnesslink, Isaacs acknowledged the challenges […]
Let’s call it the “Leap To Fame-factor” and it will make this Victoria Cup even more important than another Group 1 Grand Circuit race for Captains Mistress. And that’s possibly even without her having to race against Leap To Fame. Another amazing layer of Leap To Fame’s greatness dawned on me in the days leading […]
Harness racing in Victoria contributed $623.3 million to the state’s economy, 61.8 per cent of it in the regions. The considerable impact was revealed in Tuesday’s launch of the Victorian Racing Industry’s Size & Scope Report, which measured the harness, thoroughbred and greyhound racing codes’ 2024-25 footprints. Harness racing had the greatest percentage of regional contribution […]
Racing contributes more than $5.5 billion to the Victorian economy and sustains over 33,450 full-time equivalent jobs across the state, an independent report has found. Prepared by specialist consultancy IER, the 2026 Size and Scope of the Victorian Racing Industry report measures the combined economic, employment and community contribution of the state’s three racing codes […]
Jackie Barker has spent her entire life immersed in harness racing, growing up in one of the sport’s most iconic families before forging an outstanding career of her own in the sulky. Fresh from driving her 700th career winner at Geelong on Friday night, Barker caught up with Tim O’Connor to reflect on her journey […]
Prominent Ballarat breeder-owner Steve Dickson has been elected as the new interim President of Harness Breeders Victoria, the august body that represents breeders and studmasters in the State. Dickson, who hails originally from Launceston and has been involved in breeding standardbreds for more than 35 years, replaces retiring president John Coffey at the helm. Among […]
Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) has released its Venue Network White Paper, a long-term framework designed to strengthen the sustainability, relevance and future viability of harness racing in Victoria. The White Paper, which was presented to Trots Clubs Victoria (TCV) and club representatives earlier this month, sets out a structured and evidence-based approach to how HRV […]
After a frantic start to the year with “mega” race meetings, we have a little hiatus before Queensland’s increasingly huge Constellations winter harness racing carnival. And the Victorians will be there in force. It’s not like Victorians haven’t played a key role in recent years with the likes of Just Believe, Arcee Phoenix, Ladies In […]
Harness racing in Victoria is set for a shake-up, with a key race rule to undergo a three-month trial at Tabcorp Park Melton aimed at making racing more competitive and engaging for punters and participants alike. From Friday, 24 April, stewards will trial a change to the “push out” position, the rule that dictates when […]
He’s the ultimate “people’s horse” of harness racing – and now veteran pacer Bulletproof Boy is airborne, chasing a Group One dream on the other side of the country. The much-loved 11-year-old was loaded for his flight to Western Australia this afternoon, bound for Perth’s Gloucester Park after part-owner and trainer Scott Ewen, of Cranbourne, […]
Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) has introduced a fuel relief rebate to support participants facing increased travel costs. Trainers and drivers will receive temporary rebates from tomorrow (April 1) through May 31 to partly offset the increase in petrol and diesel prices. HRV CEO Matt Isaacs said the rebate was recognition of the additional costs that […]
Sydney-based owner and breeder Mick Harvey has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to the sport, being named Victorian Breeder of the Year at the 2025 Victorian Harness Racing Awards held at Melton Entertainment Park. Mick Harvey’s success is particularly notable given it has been achieved with a small and carefully selected broodmare band in Victoria, producing a string […]
The lightly raced but injury prone Fighter Command (Always B Miki) showed the talent he is made of with a lightning burst to win the Swift Signs Pace at Melton on Saturday evening. In a small but select field Bulletproof Boy was installed a hot favourite on the strength of his previous form including his […]
The spotlight will fall on Victoria’s best pacers, trotters and industry participants this weekend when the 2025 Victorian Harness Racing Awards take place at Melton Entertainment Park on Sunday, March 22, 2026. A total of 48 stars of the track have been selected as finalists across the various Horse of the Year categories, with connections […]
The field for the 2026 Sportsbet A. G. Hunter Cup has been released, with an outstanding line-up assembled for Saturday night’s $250,000 Group 1 classic at Melton Entertainment Park. All eyes will be on 2024 champion Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight), who looms as the standout as he chases the lucrative $1 million bonus after […]
Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) is pleased to announce a late invitation for a Victorian to drive in the Coupe Intercontinentale des Amateurs at Vincennes, France, on Saturday 24 January 2026 – the day before the prestigious Prix d’Amérique. The successful applicant will not only get the chance to drive in the race, but experience the […]
The late, great Gavin Lang was elevated to the 12th Legend of Victorian harness racing at Saturday night’s Hall of Fame ceremony, capping a night that also saw six inductions and the first great families celebrated. Lang was only the sixth participant to be named a Legend, joining greats of the track Gordon Rothacker (2012), George […]
Champion pacer Leap To Fame will headline the best harness horses from Australia and New Zealand to chase two exciting and massive new bonuses on Victoria’s feature summer races. In a huge boost for the sport, Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) today unveiled a $1.5 million in insured bonuses – $1 million for pacers and $500,000 […]
Birchip, a town famous for its bull and Australia’s best vanilla slice, is now home to Victoria’s first harness slot race. The $125,000 Cargill Running of the Bulls on March 8 is the newest addition to the racing calendar, which will have country Victoria at its core. Birchip Harness Racing Club secretary Brad Sharp said the concept […]
