The Garrards Horse and Hound Young Guns Series returns for its fourth year in 2026, showcasing Victoria’s most promising young harness racing drivers on one of the biggest nights of the racing calendar.
The series will be held at Melton Entertainment Park on Thursday, December 31, 2026, as part of the New Year’s Eve race meeting.
The top 10 Victorian-licensed drivers aged under 25, ranked by their number of winning drives during the 2026 season up to and including November 30, will qualify for the series.
The 10 drivers will compete across eight ratings-exempt races throughout the evening, with a sliding points scale based on finishing positions determining the overall series winner.
The next generation of harness racing talent will also be involved, with Pony Trot participants featuring on the track and taking part in the presentation of the Young Guns drivers.
New Year’s Eve at Melton is traditionally one of the biggest nights on the Victorian harness racing calendar, featuring racing, entertainment, family activities and a midnight fireworks display. A crowd of approximately 7,000 is anticipated in 2026.
Those unable to attend can follow the racing through Sky Racing, Sky Racing Active and TrotsVision.
Broadcast and Event Details
Date: Thursday, December 31, 2026
Venue: Melton Entertainment Park, Victoria
Competition: Eight designated ratings-exempt races
Participants: Top 10 eligible Victorian-licensed under-25 drivers
Broadcast: Sky Racing, Sky Racing Active and TrotsVision
Entertainment: New Year’s Eve celebrations, family activities, Pony Trots and midnight fireworks
The series is open to Victorian-licensed drivers aged under 25 who meet the eligibility criteria.
Qualification will be determined by the number of winning drives recorded during the 2026 season up to and including November 30, 2026.
The 10 highest-ranked eligible drivers will qualify to compete in the series.
A Selection Committee appointed for the series reserves the right to determine a driver’s eligibility to participate in the series, having regard to the driver’s licensing status, disciplinary record, any breaches of the Australian Harness Racing Rules, their level of participation in competitive harness racing in Victoria, their participation, conduct and engagement within junior driver development programs, and any other relevant factors
The series will be conducted across eight designated ratings-exempt races at Melton Entertainment Park on December 31, 2026.
The overall winner will be determined by the cumulative points earned across the eight series races, subject to the rules and stewards’ determinations outlined below.
1. Non-participation, scratching and failure to finish
In the event of a driver not receiving an engagement in a designated series race, a horse being scratched, or a horse failing to complete a race due to a racing incident as determined by the Meeting’s Stewards Panel, five (5) points shall be awarded to the driver.
In all other circumstances where a horse and driver fail to complete a race, the driver shall receive one (1) point.
2. Dead heats
In the event of a dead heat for any placing in a series race, the points allocated to the finishing positions involved in the dead heat shall be added together and divided equally among the drivers concerned.
3. Driver offences and stewards’ discretion
If a driver commits an offence, the Stewards shall have absolute discretion to determine whether any portion of the points earned by that driver in the relevant race, up to 100%, shall be deducted.
The Stewards shall also have absolute discretion to determine whether a driver may be declared the winner of the series, having regard to all circumstances considered relevant, including but not limited to:
- The driver’s conduct throughout the series.
- Compliance with the Australian Harness Racing Rules.
- Any other factors the Stewards consider appropriate.
- Any decision made by the Stewards under this provision shall be final.
4. Replacement and emergency drivers
In the event that a driver cannot take their place in a race for any reason, the horse or horses allocated to that driver shall be driven by the designated emergency driver in the first instance.
Points earned by the emergency driver shall be allocated to that driver’s individual series tally.
The emergency driver shall not inherit any points previously accrued by the driver being replaced.
5. Compulsory stewards’ briefing
All participating drivers must attend the stewards’ briefing prior to the commencement of the series.
Drivers will be informed of the series rules and must disclose any relevant prior offence loading.
6. Countback procedure
In the event that two or more drivers finish the series on an equal number of points, final placings shall be determined by countback.
The driver with the greatest number of winning drives in the eight series races shall receive the higher placing.
If the tie remains unresolved, the countback shall proceed in the following order:
- Greatest number of second-place finishes.
- Greatest number of third-place finishes.
- Greatest number of fourth-place finishes.
- Subsequent finishing positions, as required.
If the tie remains unresolved after applying all countback criteria, the driver ranked highest on the official Young Guns qualification leaderboard shall receive the higher placing.
Points Scoring System
Points are allocated according to finishing position and the number of starters in each race.
|
Finishing position |
10 starters |
9 starters |
8 starters |
7 starters |
|
1st |
17 |
16 |
15 |
14 |
|
2nd |
12 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
|
3rd |
9 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
|
4th |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
|
5th |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
|
6th |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
|
7th |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
8th |
3 |
2 |
1 |
— |
|
9th |
2 |
1 |
— |
— |
|
10th |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
The provisions relating to scratchings, racing incidents, dead heats and stewards’ deductions apply in conjunction with this points system.
Eligible Drivers
| ' | DRIVER | AGE | WINS | SECONDS | THIRDS | CLIENT_ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ewa Justice | 23 | 86 | 75 | 80 | 10580927 |
 | Liam Older | 22 | 82 | 83 | 63 | 10594263 |
 | Jordan Leedham | 23 | 78 | 78 | 87 | 10584240 |
 | Tasmyn Potter | 24 | 70 | 56 | 53 | 10586477 |
 | Ryan Sanderson | 23 | 64 | 64 | 53 | 10583863 |
 | Luke Dunne | 21 | 58 | 61 | 65 | 10591402 |
 | Taylor Youl | 22 | 45 | 29 | 32 | 10584406 |
 | Connor Clarke | 23 | 36 | 38 | 48 | 10581828 |
 | Hannah Lewis | 22 | 32 | 25 | 28 | 10601159 |
 | Tristan Larsen | 23 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 10585576 |
 | Abby Sanderson | 21 | 20 | 16 | 26 | 10590366 |
 | Brent Murphy | 24 | 16 | 32 | 20 | 10576561 |
 | Blake Pace | 22 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 10544915 |
 | Hannah Parish | 23 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 10584407 |
 | Lauren White | 23 | 10 | 12 | 21 | 10582812 |
 | Harry O'Neill | 23 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 10590923 |
 | Reagan Clarke | 19 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 10597483 |
 | Riley Pace | 19 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10544914 |
 | Jack Barton | 17 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 10606797 |
 | Rory Coverdale | 23 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 10584984 |
 | Olivia Jardine | 23 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10600982 |
 | Ben Xiriha | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10589859 |
 | Louis Emerson | 24 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10589593 |
 | Brent White | 20 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10563034 |
 | Ajay Baker | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10556572 |
