FROM HRV CHAIR BERNARD SAUNDRY:
There is only one night until all eyes will be on Melton Entertainment Park for Victoria’s greatest night of harness racing, featuring the Sportsbet A G Hunter Cup and Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star. This is the pinnacle of our sport, and it is exciting to see a 10-race card of runners worthy of the occasion.
At 8.43 pm the mobile’s gates will fold back to launch the 76th edition of the Hunter Cup, the race for pacing heavyweights that has again drawn champions from our north and across the Tasman.
What a night it could be for Grant Dixon and Kevin and Kay Seymour as their bona fide champion, Leap To Fame, attempts to become the first horse since Blossom Lady in 1995 to defend his Hunter Cup crown. To do so, he will have to overcome a back-row draw and an outstanding field of contenders.
Harness racing devotees will barely have time to catch their breaths before the Great Southern Star final follows at 9.45pm. From the heats (races two and three) to the all-important barrier draw on the lawn after race four, and then on to the final – it will be a night with Elitloppet-level drama. The world will be watching. Will the next Just Believe emerge?
Get trackside or watch the coverage on Sky Racing or Racing.com to enjoy every moment of the best of Australasian harness racing, and good luck to all the devoted owners, breeders, trainers, drivers, and stablehands who have dared to dream of being a part of this race night.
And a bit of extra good luck to all our female drivers, who will begin their fundraising tonight for Team Teal, with every victory to help WomenCan support those with gynecological cancer.
FROM THETROTS.COM.AU: YOUR HOME OF HARNESS RACING IN VICTORIA:
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Get ready for the Sportsbet A G Hunter Cup with today's special four-page liftout in the Herald Sun.
SPORTSBET A G HUNTER CUP & YABBY DAM FARMS GREAT SOUTHERN STAR
Harness racing's heavyweights fight for a place in history on Saturday night:
8.43pm: $250,000 Group 1 Sportsbet AG Hunter Cup
9.46pm: $250,000 Group 1 Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star (heats R2 @ 6.30pm and R3 @ 7.07pm)
7.37pm: $50,000 Group 3 Hip Pocket Castlemaine 4YO Bonanza
9.13pm: $50,000 Group 3 Alabar Farms Ladyship Cup
10.18pm: $30,000 Group 3 Catanach's Mercury80 Final
Get trackside to Melton Entertainment Park for a night jam-packed with great racing and fun, including urban market stalls, food trucks, free children's activities, a live trackside DJ and an outdoor bar.
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HART HATCHES PLAN TO BEAT LEAP TO FAME IN THE BIG DANCE Young gun driver Cam Hart knows how to beat Leap To Fame and has a plan to do it again in Saturday night’s Group 1 Hunter Cup. |
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PAT DRISCOLL AND YABBY DAM FARM'S REMARKABLE IMPACT Principal Pat Driscoll and Yabby Dam Farms have made a huge impact on the harness racing industry in Australia, revolutionising the sport in this part of the world with an exceptional breeding and racing program. |
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CAN'T GET TRACKSIDE? WATCH IT LIVE ON SKY RACING AND RACING.COM Can’t make it to Melton? You can watch all the great racing tomorrow night live on Sky Racing, with host Brittany Graham on course for all the key insights and interviews. For wall-to-wall coverage, catch Tim O'Connor, Ryan Phelan, Bronte Nieuwenburg, Michael Guerin, and race caller Dan Mielicki from 5.55pm on Racing.com channels 68/78 and 7Plus for an immersive broadcast that takes you inside harness racing like never before. The broadcast is simulcast on TrotsVision.com.au |
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Dream Team Teal reunite to raise cash, awareness for WomenCan |
The fundraising race to $5 million resumes on Saturday night when Australian harness racing’s female drivers don teal pants in support of WomenCan.
The Team Teal movement, launched by Duncan McPherson in Victoria to honour his late wife Lyn, has raised more than $3.1 million to pioneer gynaecological cancer research, prevention and education programs.
Team Teal resumes on February 1, when Melton Entertainment Park’s lights will be at their brightest for the show-stopping Sportsbet A G Hunter Cup and Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star, which will draw many sports fans trackside or tuning in to the Sky Racing and Racing.com broadcasts.
More than 20 of the night’s combatants will be steered by female drivers, including Harness Racing Victoria’s Team Teal ambassadors Kerryn Manning, Kate Gath, Jackie Barker and Ewa Justice, who along with fellow reinswoman Jodi Quinlan will wear special commemorative silks throughout the campaign.
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Minister appoints John Doherty to Harness Racing Victoria Board
The Minister for Racing, the Hon Anthony Carbines, has appointed John Doherty to Harness Racing Victoria’s Board, continuing the magistrate’s considerable service to the sport.
Mr Doherty was appointed to a three-year term on the Board, joining recently appointed Chair Bernard Saundry, Deputy Chair Catherine Ainsworth, and members Judy Rothacker and Dennis Bice.
Mr Doherty previously served on the Board from 2001-2009 and continued his involvement in harness racing with service on the HRV Integrity Council (2010-2017) and representation on the RAD Board. He was also a Deputy Chair of the Independent Victorian Racing Tribunal (2017-2022).
“I was humbled that it was thought I could contribute, and I’m ready and willing to take up the challenge again in whatever way I can,” Mr Doherty said.
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CUT YOUR PETROL COSTS! Click here & sign up to United Petroleum's discount for trots participants |
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From Pony Trots Victoria: This Saturday night 23 ponies will compete across two divisions in the Pony Trots Victoria Hunter Cup. Joining our talented Victorian drivers will be six ponies and drivers from South Australia. Our racing, proudly sponsored by Hygain, starts at 6.35pm. More information, including the racing calendar, is available at www.ponytrotsvictoria.org.au or via email to ponytrotsvic@hrv.org.au. From HRV's workforce development: James Herbertson’s incredible 2024 season finished with another amazing high on New Year’s Eve when he took out the second running of the Garrard’s Young Guns series. Herbertson won the series in the final event of the night and without driving a winner on the card at Melton Entertainment Park, nailing Luke Dunne and Southpaw Slugger with his horse Icanmotor in a photo finish to grab third in the last of eight races. This lifted Herbertson to 64 points overall, two clear of Ryan Backhouse and a further two ahead of Dunne. “It’s incredible,” Herbertson, 24, said. |
For more information, email Jenni Lewis at jlewis@hrv.org.au
From HRV's integrity department:
INDUSTRY NOTICE - FORMALDEHYDE
Harness Racing Victoria's Integrity Department has received information indicating the potential use of “Formalin” (formaldehyde) within the industry as an attempt to address exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) in standardbreds. Some participants may mistakenly believe that this practice prevents bleeding, based upon misinformation from a historical article, a claim that has since been scientifically disproven.
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LATE CHANGES Please be advised that industry participants can use the phone number (03) 9214 0650 to leave messages regarding late scratchings, driver changes, and notification of driving tactics. When leaving a voice message, kindly provide your license number for identification purposes, along with the relevant details you wish to notify HRV stewards about. This service is particularly useful for contacting HRV stewards outside of office hours, on weekends or on public holidays. |
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Phone stewards on 03 8378 0222 or email integritymatters@hrv.org.au. Click to report suspicious behavior. |
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From HRV's customer service, futurities and licensing: |
From HRV's customer service, futurities and licensing:
VICBRED FUTURITIES NOMINATIONS
Vicbred age acceptances payments are due by February 28, 2025. Withdrawals can be processed via Harnessweb My-Futurities. Upgrading 2YOs to series fees can be completed via email to info@hrv.org.au or calling HRV Customer Service 03 8378 0200. All information regarding Victorian futurities can be found at
LICENCE RENEWALS
For participants who have not renewed, it is not too late. Go to HarnessWeb to complete your licence today.
FOAL NOTIFICATIONS
Please ensure the result of the service is notified through to HRV within three weeks, live or not. This can be done online via HarnessWeb or by filling in a foal notification form on the Foal notification information page at thetrots.com.au.
Contact the Customer Service Team on 03 8378 0200, 8.30am-5pm weekdays, or email info@hrv.org.au.
HOT TO TROT: CLICK FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM ALDEBARAN PARK
From HRV's racing office:
Harness Racing Victoria will amend its racing guidelines to increase field size limits to maximise participation and fuel greater revenue returns to the industry. Following consultation with the Victorian Trainers and Drivers Association and Victorian Harness Racing Club, HRV will increase the cap on race starters. Races that were previously capped at 10 starters will increase. From February 1:
Racetracks with a circumference of 900m and greater will have field limits of 12 starters in all races
Tracks with a circumference of less than 900m will have limits of 11 starters for all mobile races and 12 starters in all standing start races (with exceptions at some smaller venues)
The changes are made to provide participants more opportunity to compete and encourage bigger field sizes, which have a direct influence on wagering turnover.
The updated changes can be viewed under ‘FIELD LIMITS’ in the Racing Guidelines at thetrots.com.au
Contact the Racing office on 03 8378 0291 from 7.30am-3.30pm weekdays or 8-9am weekends and public holidays, or email racing@hrv.org.au. For late scratchings or driver changes out of hours, leave a message on 03 9214 0650.
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Participant Industry Assistance Program - mental health & work/life support |