Regional tracks –
The Albany HRC course is located 422km south east of Perth was opened in 1974 as a 622m track that was increased to its current dimensions of 855m (granitic sand) in 1995. Its feature race the Albany Cup has been run since 1976.
The Bridgetown Trotting Club located 270km south west of Perth dates back to the early 1920’s being established in 1927 and racing at the Showgrounds from 1928-1949. It was the sixth WA Club to race under lights (1936). Its new track was opened in 1950 (813m). The club is now known as the Bridgetown Harness Racing Club enjoys two race meetings each season held in March.
Churchill Park, Busseltown opened in 1949 features a 656m granitic sand track. Located 220 kms south west of Perth, its annual feature race is the Busseltown Trotting Cup.
The original Bunbury TC was the fifth WA club to race under lights (1936). Located in the south west, 175kms from Perth, the modern edition of the club was formed in 1950 by a group of six people. A track was built (805m), a fence put around it, a covered betting ring area developed, a bar, food bar and two wooden buildings to act as a type of grandstand were all in place for the club’s first meeting which was held on 19 December 1951. It consisted of six races, three with nineteen starters and three with twenty starters, prizemoney of £60 per race. Many horses travelled from Perth for this first meeting. Local support both equine and human increased slowly in the years thereafter.
Today, the 960m granitic sand track with sprint lane at Donaldson Park is the home of harness racing in the South-West, and the Bunbury TC conducts approximately thirty meetings throughout the racing season. The track was extended to 960m on 17 November 2001 and the stables layout was changed. Earlier a new members grandstand had been erected and a covered area provided for patrons. All race meetings are broadcast nationally on the Sky Racing Channel.
The Club’s biggest on-course attendance is usually achieved on New Year’s Eve when approximately 5,000 people descend on Donaldson Park for a popular race night of pacing and entertainment (children’s activities and fireworks). The second best attended night is for the Bunbury Pacing Cup held in November/December each year since 1952 with an expected crowd of 3,000 plus. Donaldson Park played host to a round of Interdominion Pacers heats (three) in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The mile heats in 2015 where My Hard Copy set a track record of 1:51.6 on 1 December 2015; 2100m heats in both 2016 and 2017 with Tiger Tara set the track record of 1:52.3MR, 28 November 2017.
Collie, situated 213 kms south of Perth was the fourth WA Club to race under lights (1936). The Collie Harness Racing Club was reformed/established in 1952 racing under lights with meetings mostly held on Friday nights. Wallsend Paceway is a 644m crushed granite track with no passing lane.
The club now races as a summer club, in 1981 the club moved to afternoon meetings, mainly held on a Saturday until the mid-1990’s when it moved to racing on alternating Sundays in February and March. Over the years the club has improved facilities with shade sails, additional seating and tables to cater for larger crowds. In 2015 a mobile barrier was introduced to racing adding to the pre-existing traditional standing starts, Feature race is the Collie Cup first run in 1962. The Paceway was used on one occasion for motorcycle racing under lights.
Narrogin, a rural community located in the southern wheatbelt 192km south east of Perth, boasted a 805m track (no sprint lane) until it was replaced with a granitic sand track of 838m in 2008. Narrogin Racing was the first club in WA to incorporate both Thoroughbred and Harness Racing. Narrogin Race & Pace Incorporated registered on 13 February 2008, trading as Narrogin Racing, heralded a new era when Narrogin racecourse held its official launch meeting on 28 September 2008.
Narrogin Racing evolved as early as February 2007 when members of the committees of the Narrogin Harness Racing and Narrogin Turf Clubs requested a meeting with Dianne Begg, Manager of Racing Development at RWWA, to discuss how best to administer the shared facilities at Narrogin Turf & Harness tracks. In April 2007 the concept of combining the clubs was formalised when elected representatives from each Club formed a Joint Management Committee to discuss the advantages of combining the two Clubs.
Following discussions in August 2007, a Steering Committee was established to prepare a formal approach to the members of each Club and to RWWA. It was agreed to start trading on the first day of the racing industry’s new financial year 1 August 2008 (thoroughbreds; harness racing year commences 1 September). After applying to RWWA for approval to establish a joint code racing club, the Steering Committee received support for the merger from the Operations Committee of RWWA and a financial grant to assist. In September 2007, members of both clubs received a discussion paper outlining the concept, progress to date and the proposed structure for the new Club. It was proposed that the club should be structured similarly to other dual code horse racing clubs such as Victoria’s Kilmore and Yarra Valley.
On 19 November 2007 a joint Special General Meeting of the Narrogin Turf and Narrogin Harness Racing Clubs was held at which members of both clubs voted unanimously in favour of amalgamation. RWWA indicated its intention to support the Steering Committee in establishing the new club. With the appointment of local solicitor Arthur Paternoster as founding Chairman the club was officially incorporated as Narrogin Race & Pace Inc on 13 February 2008. Incorporation was initially requested as Narrogin Racing; this name was unavailable and a decision was made that the club would be incorporated as Narrogin Race & Pace Inc trading as Narrogin Racing. Narrogin Racing hosts twenty two race meetings annually with sixteen for harness racing and the balance for thoroughbred racing. The feature harness race is the Narrogin Cup run annually in March/April.
Northam RC show meeting on 16 October 1902 included its first trotting race – Time Hcp Trot with a field of fifteen starters. Won by Dosey (in saddle) starting from a ninety second handicap and winning by five lengths, the rider was Charles Sweeting, brother of the owner Mrs Maud Dempster.
The Northam Harness Racing Club is located in the Avon Valley, approximately 90kms or an hours driving from Perth. The 825m (no sprint lane) all-weather Burwood Park track opened in 1962 allows for racing all year round. The club has more than twenty five meetings per season with the feature race the Northam Cup run in January/February. The modern edition of the Cup dates from 1960 with recorded instances of a Northam Cup in 1916 and 1917.
Pinjarra Paceway is one of Western Australia’s premier provincial harness racing venues. The earlier track of the Pinjarra TC founded in 1950 was at the Greater Sports Ground, with the first meeting held in 1954 and the final meeting in 1989. From 1968 onwards it was an 805m triangular track.
Pinjarra Harness Racing Club’s 1,000 metre granitic sand track with sprint lane opened in 1990 and is located an hour from Perth CBD. The track incorporates euro-poles instead of a running rail, a very new feature to appear in 1990. The track remains the only 1000 metre track in Western Australia. In 2011 the club opened its stunning new amenity for patrons, the Paceway Pavilion, with a restaurant, full bar and TAB facilities. Race meetings are held every Monday throughout the year. The club’s feature event is the Group One Pinjarra Cup, first run in 1955 and now held every March. Sub 1:55 mile rates even for two year olds are not uncommon on the fast Pinjarra track.
Wagin is located in the Great Southern Ranges 225kms south of Perth. The Wagin Trotting Club incorporated in 1924 currently presenting harness racing action at the Tom Thompson Memorial Paceway, Wagin. The original track was 656m in circumference while its present dimensions are 814m, of granitic sand with no sprint lane. The racing season consisting of eight meetings mostly on Friday nights runs from October through to June with the annual Wagin Cup taking place in late February/early March.
For decades the Wagin TC has shared its facilities with the Wagin Football Club and the Make Smoking History Wagin Woolorama. In 2019 the Woolorama committee strengthened its ties with the trotting club by sponsoring one of its official race meetings. The club has in recent years repainted the existing stalls, is planning to build more stalls and hopes to build a new commentary and judge’s box. The addition of a sprint lane to Wagin’s long straight is also planned. The club works closely with Woolorama to develop the grounds and hopes to gain a RWWA grant to achieve its latest plans.
Wagin is among those clubs that to date have survived the closure of country trotting tracks or hosting fewer meetings with the centralisation to metropolitan and major regional centres. Local closure examples would be when towns such as Wyalkatchem, Dumbleyung and Katanning had trotting tracks.
The Williams TC opened during the 1944/5 season, having at its meeting on 5 March 2020 celebrated its seventy fifth anniversary. Its 727.13 track has no sprint lane. Now titled as the Williams Harness Racing Club it holds two daylight race meetings each season, between November and February including the popular Williams Cup.
Situated in the beautiful and historic town of York, 100km east of and an hour’s drive from Perth, the picturesque York racecourse is in a unique setting at the foot of Mount Bakewell. Thoroughbreds have graced the turf in York since 1833, with the Avon Valley witnessing its first official race meeting in 1843, nine years before the formation of the West Australian Turf Club. The Club moved to its present location at the beginning of the century. It began as the York Jockey Club, then for many years was the York-Beverley Turf Club, and is now York Racing Inc.
The York Trotting Club was the first country TC in WA, whilst trotting races continued on the Jockey Clubs programme, from 1912 the next ten years saw preparations for construction of a new track and tote buildings at Forest Oval, a track modelled on the WACA. This 667m track hosted its first meeting on 30 September 1922 consisting of seven races. Lights were installed at the Paceway in 1948 and the modern era York Cup commenced in 1949. The historic race for Standardbreds has been run every year since then, with the exception of 1955 when no result is recorded, for reasons now unknown with a date change meaning no race in the calendar year 1956 either.
Since the enforced closure of the old trotting track in York some years ago, harness racing has been hosted by arrangement with Northam Harness Racing Club at their facilities in this large neighbouring regional town (York Cup raced at Northam in 2000 and from 2007 – 2016 and at Gloucester Park 2017 – 2019).
A freak storm in 2011 destroyed the Heritage listed York thoroughbred track grandstand and most of the racecourse infrastructure bringing thoroughbred racing in York to a stop for the first time in more than a century. An amalgamation of the towns Turf and Harness Clubs to form a new entity, York Racing Inc, provided for a complete racecourse redevelopment programme to be undertaken. With support and funding from the Royalties for Regions Grants Scheme, RWWA and York community a remodelled and revamped turf track, new trotting track within the perimeter of the turf track and state of the art infrastructure has been undertaken.
The newly amalgamated York Racing Inc reopened its York racecourse in March 2015. The York TC anticipates that harness racing will return to York in due course.
Closed Tracks –
Racing was undertaken on the Byford track until its final meeting on 30 April 2006. Byford training track located on the corner of Briggs Rd and Binshaw Ave, is approximately 35kms from Perth with an 816 metre all-weather training track plus a 1000 metre sand jog track which vehicles with joggers are permitted to use. The facility also includes swimming pool, scales, one hundred stalls, two wash bays, club rooms (licensed bar) and float park area. The complex covers approx 52 acres and is surrounded by 2 acre blocks with easy access to the facilities.
During the year the club runs functions for members and friends to get together and have a BBQ, drinks and socialise, culminating in a Christmas party mainly aimed at the members children with Santa Claus arriving in a horse drawn carriage. Social club membership is $25 per season with full membership for a licenced person with Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) being $200, which permits the member to use the training facilities provided by RWWA at the Byford Trotting Training Complex.
The 804.5m Geraldton Paceway (Geraldton HRC) was located inside the Geraldton Turf Club’s track. The Geraldton Turf Club formed in 1861 is the oldest Provincial Race Club in Western Australia. It moved from Meru to the present Utakarra site in 1927 with the existing Meru grand stand relocated as well.
The original Geraldton harness racing club was formed in 1914 but held no meetings. Reformed in 1995 (first meeting 17 April 1995) harness racing was held at the Turf Club for a number of years but was closed down by authorities in 2011 (last meeting 25 July 2010). At the end of the 1999-2000 season the Turf club was faced with crippling debt. The track in what was considered a dangerous condition, had racing suspended for the 2000-2001 season. Whilst the track under repair the 2001 Geraldton Gold Cup was run in Perth. In 2005 the Club received a substantial grant to upgrade its facilities which included a new entrance, administration building, jockeys rooms, race day stalls and mounting yards and new amenities block.
The original Harvey TC racing at the Harvey Recreation Reserve had an opening meeting on 2 May 1928. The third WA country Club to race under lights with its inaugural Harvey Cup held between 1928 and 1940. A later Harvey Cup commenced in 1950 the race being discontinued in 2018 (2015, 2016 raced at Albany; 2017 at Bunbury). The Harvey Recreation Reserve track closed 5 May 1979. The club moved to a new 805m venue at King Lethbridge Park opening on 3 October 1979, located at the small village of Warawarrup (5 km to the south of Harvey). Racing ceased at this venue after the meeting of 24 May 2014.
The first WA country club (formed 1903) to race under lights was Kalgoorlie’s Golden Mile TC (2 September 1915). The 804m Cruickshank Sports Arena hosted its final meeting on 15 December 2017, thereafter racing at Kalgoorlie’s historic Golden Mile Trotting Club finished, with RWWA not allocating future meetings to the 114-year-old club.
The local population of trainers in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder area was insufficient to sustain racing particularly as the club relied heavily on travellers from Perth and the rural areas around the South West. The Golden Mile Cup (1963 – 2008) and Kalgoorlie-Boulder Cup (1995 – 2017) were two of a number of Cups run over the lifespan of the Golden Mile club’s century plus tenure in Kalgoorlie.
The Katanning TC raced at the Showgrounds from 1930 until 1988, racing under lights on its 576m track from the early 1940’s. Katanning Jubilee Celebrations on Saturday 29 April 1939 hosted a jubilee dance in the Lyric Theatre and the Katanning Trotting Club’s meeting under electric light at the Katanning Show Grounds.
The Woodanilling trotting track site is important for its association with the development of recreational activities in the district. The formation of Woodanilling Trotting Club in late 1919 was the first country club formed. Approved by the Western Australian Trotting Association with certain conditions, an official meeting took place at Easter (3 April) 1920, with fields of seven to eight horses in each event. These early meetings were for horses ridden at a trot (under saddle) as opposed to being driven in sulkies.
The first trotting races at Woodanilling had been held almost seven years before on a track surveyed around the recreation ground (1913). In August 1920, the Woodanilling TC secretary announced that a revision of registered horses was taking place and that drivers in future had to obtain a reinsmen’s licence. Negotiations were made for the introduction to the district of a leading trotting sire. The club met on the question of whether race meetings should be held at Woodanilling or Wagin.
In 1926 the trotting club however went defunct in 1926 through a dwindling population and local enthusiasts found it necessary to take their horses to the newly formed Katanning Club meetings. It was not until 25 years later (early 1950’s) that a new trotting track was graded north of the recreation ground to give local trainers a place to exercise and train their horses.
Manjimup Recreation Ground hosted its first meeting on 2 April 1929. At the 550yds track on 21 December 1935, Manjimup became the second WA country club to race under lights. The final meeting held on this track took place in 1949.
Racing was conducted at Nungarin for which no details are available.
Next Time : Perth’s metropolitan tracks
Peter Craig
9 June 2021
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
