Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) is proud to again support International Women’s Day and celebrate what makes our sport unique.

Women make huge contributions to all sectors of our industry, whether it is on race tracks, in stables, stewards’ rooms, administration offices, at stud farms, on broadcast panels or other harness racing roles.

Harness racing is also a sport where women and men compete equally against each other in the driving and training ranks. It offers a genuinely level playing field – regardless of gender – something that we at HRV celebrate every day.

We've seen it in the training ranks, where Emma Stewart has dominated Victorian harness racing since winning her first metropolitan and state training premierships in 2014-15, and then proceeded to win every year since. That included in 2022, when Julie Douglas and Jess Tubbs were the state’s second and third most prolific winners, with the latter's extraordinary success including Just Believe’s Aurora Australis and Inter Dominion triumphs.

This February Stewart held aloft her first Del-Re National A. G. Hunter Cup when Honolua Bay scored, also producing a proud moment for owner-breeder Anne Anderson, who with husband Bill has transformed Lauriston Bloodstock into a pacing powerhouse.

We also saw women thrive on the track at Menangle on Saturday night, when Kate Gath bravely steered Catch A Wave to the front in the Miracle Mile and then the pair held off all comers to make her the second Victorian woman to claim the famed sprint, joining fellow Team Teal ambassador Jodi Quinlan.

Victoria's talented female drivers have amassed a staggering $32,000 from 80 wins for WomenCan through Team Teal, which runs from February 1 to March 15 and has already raised $125,700 to help the fight against ovarian and gynaecological cancers.

Gath will join RSN 927AM from 1pm today to speak of her win and reflect on International Women’s Day.

However, as referenced above, racing exploits are but some of the many contributions women make in the sport, also extending to the contributions of Dr Catherine Ainsworth, Jane Brook and Judy Rothacker, who make up half of Harness Racing Victoria’s board, and the many others behind the scene who keep the wheels turning.

Among that number is Ebony Loffel, a Shepparton-based Clerk of the Course who will join today’s TrotsLife on SEN Track radio to share her story amid an International Women’s Day special. The show, from 11am-1pm, will also feature Australian driving trailblazer Lauren Tritton, who’s thriving in the US including with star pacer Lochinvar Art.

To learn more about International Women’s Day and the #EmbraceEquity theme, click here.