Following on from the previous article which looked at the early days of SA harness racing and Adelaide’s metropolitan harness racing tracks, this time we concentrate on the regional racetracks of South Australia.
Regional –
The first trotting race held in Gawler took place on 12 February 1910 at a meeting of the Gawler JC, Evanston Race Course. The initial Gawler TC held just two meetings at the Showgrounds in 1926 – first four months later than the first Adelaide September Show held at Wayville Showgrounds. The meeting on 30 January 1926 was followed by another on 27 February 1926 after which the club disbanded for over a decade.
The reformed club was registered in October 1937 with the SA Trotting League – the sixth club registered with others being South Australian TC, Port Pirie District TC, Yorke Peninsula TC, Snowtown TC and Mount Gambier TC. The first meetings were held on temporary grounds at the Chandler family property, Willaston commencing on Thursday 12 April 1938. The 880 yds (½m) track hosted six races, the meeting one of four held in the 1937/8 season on the temporary track. Other meetings were run on 17 May/seven races; 14 June/six races and the final season meeting/six races.
During the 1938/9 season, seven meetings were held on the temporary track at Willaston, the eleventh and last overall taking place on 20 December 1938. Gawler Showgrounds held an opening meeting of seven races on a 615 yd track on 31 January 1939. Lights were installed and used from the meeting of 23 September 1952. During the 1950’s night trotting attracted crowds of 10,000 patrons. Champion SA pacer and leading sire Aachen (SA Cup) was beaten for the first time in twenty one starts by Petite Maid on 2 January 1959 at Gawler. Aachen recorded seven of his twenty seven wins from thirty two starts at Gawler. The last meeting held at the Showgrounds was on 9 April 1968 (Snowtown TC held a further three meetings on this track until 5 May 1970).
The Gawler club moved to a fifty one acre property adjacent to Gawler aerodrome with the first meeting held on their new ½m (805m) track being on 5 September 1969 where they raced until the last meeting at this venue on 06 December 2008, closed when the track was acquired for the Northern Expressway development. The Gawler Harness Racing Club’s feature races between 2009 and 2018 were run at Globe Derby Park.
A new 960m site was developed on Two Wells Road, Buchfelde where twice monthly trials were initially held. On Sunday 4 March 2018 a one off heritage and family fun day was held which included face painters, balloon artists, ‘pat the pony’ and Pony Trots) and a return to racing for the Gawler HRC ten years after their last meeting at the previous track.
An annual return to harness racing at Gawler now seems likely with the past three seasons seeing the Gawler HRC hosting Sunday day meetings including their feature races – Gawler Pacers and Trotters Cups and Gawler Derby. On 24 February 2019, the eight race programme raced over 1590, 2070 stand/mobile (Derby) and 2550 stand (Cups) metre distances. In 2020, another eight race programme was run on 8 March with racing now over a standard one mile (1609m) mobile, 2070m mobile (Derby) and 2550m stand for both of the Cup races. On Sunday 7 March 2021, the Gawler Pacers and Trotters Cups were part of a seven race programme. The Pacers Cup was first run in 1941 (not run during WWII 1942 – 1945; 1954; 2009-2018 Globe Derby) and the Hambletonian Trotters Cup in 1946 (not run 1954-56, 1978; Globe Derby 2000-2018).
The Kapunda Harness Racing Club (KHRC) was registered with the South Australian Trotting League following the conclusion of the Second World War (1945). The club holds several non-TAB meetings annually (6/7) plus is the location for other events including annual Kapunda swap meet, Show, Rodeo and 24 hour motorcycle trial. In 2012 South Australian Long track Championships were held at Dutton Raceway, Kapunda on 22 January.
Located at Dutton Park, a section of the 50 acres bequeathed to the Kapunda Community by the late Sir Sydney Kidman for recreational use, and consisting of native scrub with a creek running through it adjacent to Hancock Road, it required clearing the land of trees prior to preparation of the track. Volunteers filled in the creek, prepared a track, built horse stalls, and erected an elaborate wood panel running rail and other necessary building facilities such as the totalisator. Money had to be borrowed to grade and prepare the track for racing to commence in 1947.
The KHRC’s inaugural day meeting was held on 11 March 1947, contested by 105 horses over eight races for total stakes of £385 ranging from £35 to £100 for the main race Kapunda Stakes (£83 to winner with fifteen guinea trophy attached). Twenty four bookmakers attended at this first meeting; field sizes ranged for eleven to twenty starters.
Three meetings were held in 1947 and 1948 before increasing during the clubs heydays of the 1950’s to 1990’s when twenty two or more meetings were conducted each season for stakes of up to $20,000 with crowds of approximately 3,000 in attendance. Racing was originally conducted on Tuesday afternoons, after the installation of lights in the mid 1950’s this changed to night racing on Tuesday evenings. The lights and inside running rail were removed several years ago as part of the restructure of harness racing in South Australia.
The KHRC track of 818m provides for fields of ten behind the mobile and twelve for standing starts with a front line of six in both instances – no sprint lane provided. Feature race the Kapunda Cup has been contested since 1947 (not run 1952 -1974, 1980-1981, 2005 – run at Globe Derby, 2020 not run due to COVID 19) while a Trotters Cup was introduced in 2006.
The inaugural harness racing meeting in Mount Gambier was held on 26 March 1924 at East End Park. The Mount Gambier club later re-opened at the 805m Showgrounds venue in 1949. The Glencoe Cup was a feature in earlier times while four current races headline the clubs annual list of feature races : Mount Gambier Pacers Gold Cup held since 1974; Derby since 1972; Oaks since 1981 and more recently Trotters Cup since 2014. The club races on approximately ten occasions each season.
The first meeting of original Port Pirie TC Club was held on 20 October 1909 at Port Pirie racecourse. The Port Pirie Memorial Oval was used as a trotting track for several years commencing on 21 February 1922 (Port Pirie and Districts TC) racing under electric lights. The Memorial Oval was also used for speedway racing as well as other sporting events such as cricket, football and carnivals.
Phoenix Park, Port Pirie’s current harness racing venue was opened in 1954 (572m). A new track of 805m was laid out in 1985 with the current track being of 950m in circumference. The Port Pirie Harness Racing Club hosts approximately twenty five race meetings per year with the Port Pirie Harness Racing Club Gold Cup its feature race held annually on a Saturday night usually in April. The club is currently the major country harness racing club in South Australia.
The Strathalbyn Harness Racing Club formed in 1938 after purchasing a block of 18 acres on Milne Rd. The secretary Mr. A.L.Grubb advised the S.A.Trotting League approved the new license on the 24th August 1938. The inaugural meeting held on the 4th October 1938 for total stake money of 150 pounds. Local wood merchant Frank Thring was the first president ensuring the committee picked out the best and straightest wood to make into running rails. The club ceased to race in March 1939 and was closed until 1945 due to WWII.
In the early years horses were floated by train from Adelaide disembarking at the Strathalbyn station and walking the short distance to the track. In the early 1970’s the Southern Greyhound Raceway were granted a long term lease with the two codes sharing the track holding combined fixtures making for multi-use of the complex. The track was rebuilt in 1979 by world renowned track designer Bede Ireland, the three furlong saucer track being replaced by a half mile purpose built track (805m) with transitional turns and is still in operation today. A new barn complex was completed in 2012 at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars. The Strathalbyn Harness Racing Club averages four race meetings each year with the Pacers Cup held since 1947 and a Trotters Cup occasionally held since 2010. Some of Australia’s best horses have raced at the paceway including Minuteman and the legendary trotter Gramel.
Victor Harbour HRC initially raced on a half mile circuit at Malin Avenue, Encounter Bay. The inaugural meeting was held on 22 January 1948, with South Australian Trotting League President Mr JJ Rice cutting the ribbon that opened the new raceway. An eight race programme featured the Inman Handicap won by Princess Eileen (sixth dam of Nidya, 1:52.0US, Newcastle Cup) and the Free For All Stakes won by Nevamaid (won fifteen races at Wayville and an ID Pacers heat in Melbourne). The old course closed with the last club meeting being held on 2 March 1997.
The club then built a 1,000m circuit at Morgan Park, minutes from the centre of the seaside town which was the culmination of a dream begun in 1986 to relocate to a more suitable venue. The site is part of Mr Walters land and a focal point of the Morgan Park rural living estate.
Contracts for the land “swap” between Bluff Harbour (the developers of Encounter Lakes) and the Victor Harbour Trotting Club were signed in 1990 but planning approval wasn’t received until 1992. Under the land “swap” agreement the Lakes developers received the old 20 acre trotting track property in return for providing a 1000m track/28m wide, 90m of three tiered viewing mounds, car parking, 80m of mounds to accommodate corporate marquees, a pool development in the centre of the track, entrance roads plus $600,000. About $195,000 of the monetary component was spent on purchasing land for an equestrian park adjacent to the track with the balance used for the development of infrastructure such as race day shelters, amenities and buildings. Soil from the Encounter Lakes excavation was used as fill on the new paceway.
Money from the sale of the old track, combined with monies from the sale of land within Morgan Park estate, enabled the club to make Morgan Park a fully funded and financial project. Ultimately up to $2 million was spent on stabling, facilities, grounds, and the 1000 metre track. Racing resumed on 3 December 2006 with several meetings hosted each season – including holiday meetings on Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and at Easter (Victor Harbour Cup). The track surface is shell grit, racing in an anti-clockwise direction over distances of 1609m, 2100m and 2400m (mobile : eleven starters; stands fourteen/both front lines of six) with no sprint lane. The club’s feature events are the Pacers (held since 1976) and Trotters (since 1985) Cups.
Whyalla raced on an 876m track but no meetings have been held here since the 2018 Cup meeting of 2 April 2018. The 2016/17 season (30 December 2016) and 2016 (5 February 2016) Cups were both held at Port Pirie. The Whyalla Pacers Cup was first run in 1976.
Closed –
Kadina, Yorke Peninsula featured a harness racing track initially at the Showgrounds from 1922 before moving to a new 650m track in 1946. The club (Yorke Peninsula TC) ceased operations at Kadin on 21 March 2004, racing later at Port Pirie (occasional meetings held in early 2000’s at Globe Derby). The club hosted feature events in respect of the Snowtown club e.g. Guineas 1974 – 2000.
A 946m track operated at Murray Bridge from 1976 until 12 August 1991.
The Port Augusta HRC operated from 1958 until 4 Nov 2000 on a 604m track (Port Augusta meetings were held at Port Pirie from December 2000 until 2005). The facility is now used as a training track.
The Snowtown TC utilised the Snowtown Showgrounds between 1924 (first meeting 15 November) and 1938 before moving to a dedicated Snowtown track (986m) where they operated between 1938 and 1970. Two superb pacers time trialled on this track – first, Lawn Derby recorded 2:02.4TT on 27 February 1940. Earlier in the month on 5 February he established an Australian mile record time of 2:02.0TT at Harold Park. Over a decade later, following his victory at Gloucester Park in the 1953 Interdominions, ten year old Captain Sandy time trialled in an exhibition mile at Snowtown in 2:03.0 on his way back to Melbourne. He then won the 1953 Easter Cup at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds and a FFA at Warragul.
Other tracks utilised in South Australia have included Cowell (794.5m) and Kimba Recreation Ground, Eyre Peninsula (805m).
Peter Craig
26 May 2021
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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