Gordon Rothacker, the champion horseman of the Melbourne Showgrounds era, was named the first Legend of the Victorian Hall of Fame.
He won a record 14 Melbourne drivers' premierships and the trainers' title on 10 occasions, and was the first reinsman to land 500 winners on Melbourne tracks.
Gordon Rothacker was a member of the Rothacker family from Serpentine and followed his father Bill and uncle Vic Rothacker into trotting.
His cousins Eric, Des and Stuart all trained and drove successfully. Gordon’s brother Albert and his nephew Robert were successful as well. Judy Rothacker, daughter of Gordon and Jean Rothacker, is a Board member of Harness Racing Victoria.
Gordon Rothacker set his record 14 Melbourne drivers’ premierships between 1949 and 1973 and captured his 10 Melbourne trainers’ premierships between 1953 and 1976.
He brought up his landmark 500th win on Melbourne tracks at Moonee Valley in 1987, 39 years after driving his first winner at the Showgrounds as an 18-year-old in the inaugural season of night trotting in 1947.
Awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours of 1972 for services to trotting, Rothacker was the Caduceus Club’s first Living Legend when inducted in 1995 and has also been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by Harness Racing Victoria.
The majority of the horses that Rothacker trained, drove and owned with his wife Jean were bred at their Doreen farm, tracing back to the New Zealand mare Worthy Stavely. Rothacker won numerous feature races with great pacers such as Angelique, Rhett and his son Rhetoric, Gallagher and Raiarmagh Pool.
Gordon represented Australia in the second World Drivers’ Championship in 1971 in the US and Canada. He passed away in 2010, aged 81.
Harness Racing Victoria’s highest individual award, the Gordon Rothacker Medal, is named in his honour.
Watch: John Tapp with Jean and Gordon Rothacker
