Australian Harness Racing History

Trotting races commenced in Australia on April 30, 1810 at Parramatta, New South Wales when the first event was held during a sports carnival and was won by Miss Kitty by the imported (Old) Hector, an Arabian stallion that was used for breeding Thoroughbreds.

In 1834 Western Australia held its first trotting race at Fremantle and in 1844 Tasmania recorded its first trotting event at Launceston.

The first organized race meeting for trotters and pacers in Australia was held 21 January 1860 on the racecourse at Flemington, Victoria. The feature event was the Harness Race, which had a purse of 100 sovereigns. Trotting under saddle was another event which held that day and it had a purse of 50 sovereigns.

The Ballarat and Creswick Trotting Club was established in 1861 becoming Australia's first club formed specifically to promote Harness Racing.

In 1882 Australia's first harness racing track was constructed at Elsternwick Park (Melbourne). The same year Queensland's first trotting race was arranged by the Brisbane Driving Park Club and held at Eagle Farm. Tasmania's first all-trotting meeting was held at Newtown in 1884.

A meeting was conducted under electric lights on 6 February 1890 at what is now Harold Park Paceway. Further introductions of night trotting on floodlit tracks led to an increase in attendances and the devlopement of a major racing industry.

In 1902 the New South Wales Trotting Club was established to formalise harness racing after the Government had banned unregistered racing. On 19 November 1902, the inaugural meeting was held on the Forest Lodge course as it was then known, later known as Epping until 21 March 1929, and then afterwards known as Harold Park.

The mobile barrier was introduced by William (Bill) George Smith and was first used at Harold Park, New South Wales track on 2 November 1956 in a mile race won by Mineral Spring in 2:01.2.

On 7 July 1975 in Queensland, Junior Harness Racing was founded by a group of breeders to give young people, aged between 6 and 16, an opportunity to obtain a practical introduction to the Harness Racing Industry. The children have the opportunity to drive Shetland ponies in harness under race conditions. No prizemoney is payable on pony races, however winners and placegetters receive medallions.

Today, Australia hosts around 91 harness racing tracks, which hold over 1,900 meetings annually. There are approximately 2,900 drivers and 4,000 trainers with about 5,000 Standardbred horses foaled and registered each year.

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