NSW Harness Racing

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MOONBI MARVEL DEAN CHAPPLE IS COMING UP 750 WINS AND STILL COUNTING

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MOONBI MARVEL DEAN CHAPPLE IS COMING UP 750 WINS AND STILL COUNTING

There was one heart stopping incident in the mid seventies which could have halted Dean Chapple’s love affair with harness racing before it got off the ground.

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D.J. “JOHNNY” HEATH - A TRUE HARNESS RACING AFICIONADO

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D.J. “JOHNNY” HEATH - A TRUE HARNESS RACING AFICIONADO

There’s nothing I’ve enjoyed more over the years than the many conversations I’ve had with veteran horsemen - especially harness horsemen who were around in the days when the sport was drawing big crowds all around Australia.

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SEAN GRAYLING MAKES A STATEMENT AT MENANGLE

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SEAN GRAYLING MAKES A STATEMENT AT MENANGLE

Sean Grayling is emerging as a pretty serious race driver, and he appears to have a good handle on the art of training a harness horse.

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THESE TURNBULL GIRLS CAN DRIVE A HARNESS HORSE

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THESE TURNBULL GIRLS CAN DRIVE A HARNESS HORSE

Abbey Turnbull’s winning drive behind Dalvey Robyn at the Riverina Paceway on Melbourne Cup night was about as good as it gets.

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HARNESS RACING NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE LAURENCE DAWSON

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HARNESS RACING NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE LAURENCE DAWSON

Laurence Dawson is one of many young horsemen who’ve worked hard to carve themselves a niche in harness racing rather than turn their backs on a sport they’ve grown to love.

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IT WAS QUITE A WEEK FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY!

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IT WAS QUITE A WEEK FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY!

Scott Adams was quietly chuffed when Humming Top’s number flashed onto the semaphore after the fifth race at Young on August 2nd.

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NSW HARNESS HIGHLIGHTS 2022

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NSW HARNESS HIGHLIGHTS 2022

We’d like to share with you a snappy HRNSW promotional video featuring the highlights of the sport in the first half of the current season. This video was produced by Power Productions.

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DAVID BROWN AND FAMILY ARE ALL HOOKED ON HARNESS RACING

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DAVID BROWN AND FAMILY ARE ALL HOOKED ON HARNESS RACING

David Brown is one of several trainers alarmed by recent rumblings about the future of the Penrith Paceway. The regular Thursday night meetings are the lifeblood of those trainers who work day jobs.

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LEON JURD DOES IT HIS WAY

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LEON JURD DOES IT HIS WAY

Leon Jurd has been thinking outside the square for most of his forty four years in harness racing. In a remarkably diversified career, the now 61 year old has made his mark as a driver, trainer and bloodstock agent.

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GREG CONEY LIKED TAMWORTH THE FIRST TIME HE SET FOOT IN THE PLACE.

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GREG CONEY LIKED TAMWORTH THE FIRST TIME HE SET FOOT IN THE PLACE.

Greg Coney had barely reached his teen years when he first set foot in the bustling north western NSW city of Tamworth - the state’s second largest inland city.

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IT TOOK A FREAK ACCIDENT TO BRING GAVIN FITZPATRICK TO HIS KNEES

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IT TOOK A FREAK ACCIDENT TO BRING GAVIN FITZPATRICK TO HIS KNEES

“The only certainty about luck is that it will change” - a quote attributable to nineteenth century American short story writer Bret Harte. Gavin Fitzpatrick isn’t into philosophical quotes but he’ll relate to this one.

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“DID IT RAIN IN TEMORA TODAY?” - THE QUESTION THAT CHANGED BRUCE HARPLEY’S LIFE.

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“DID IT RAIN IN TEMORA TODAY?” - THE QUESTION THAT CHANGED BRUCE HARPLEY’S LIFE.

Bruce Harpley was as happy as a dog with two tails when daylight savings resumed in NSW on October 3rd. For the last thirty years daylight has been a precious commodity for the personable Harpley…

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SYDNEY’S FIRST INTERDOMINION!

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SYDNEY’S FIRST INTERDOMINION!

We recently stumbled upon some high quality photographs from the 1952 Interdominion series - the eleventh to be conducted and the very first at Sydney’s iconic Harold Park Paceway.

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THERE’S ONLY ONE CORRECT HOPPLE LENGTH

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THERE’S ONLY ONE CORRECT HOPPLE LENGTH

Stumbled upon this photo of a pacer called Pick On (Percy Hall) winning a qualifying heat of the 1952 Inter Dominion Championship at Harold Park. Note the “snug” hopple length on a horse who stood close to 17 hands.

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BRUCE MORGAN PROVED YOU SHOULD NEVER LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH!

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BRUCE MORGAN PROVED YOU SHOULD NEVER LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH!

Trainers who live within earshot of their stables seem to develop an uncanny sensitivity to the sounds made by a horse in trouble. Junortoun trainer Bruce Morgan has been lured from his bed many times over the years by the familiar thrashing of a horse cast in its box, but around 7.30 pm on July 17th he was puzzled by a sound he’d never heard before.

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GRAEME WATTS GAVE IN TO THE POWER OF GENETICS!

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GRAEME WATTS GAVE IN TO THE POWER OF GENETICS!

It’s widely accepted that the offspring of harness horsemen and women are apt to follow their parents into the sport. Many prominent trotting trainers and drivers around Australia are third and fourth generation devotees of the standardbred.

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A WEALTH OF TROTTING TALENT

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A WEALTH OF TROTTING TALENT

A galaxy of star trotting horsemen assembled for this photo in the Penrith Paceway Function Centre at the end of the 1976/1977 racing season - a season which marked two significant milestones in the remarkable career of P.J. “Perc.” Hall.

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BILL ELLIS OAM HAS WORN MANY HATS DURING HIS JOURNEY IN HARNESS RACING

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BILL ELLIS OAM HAS WORN MANY HATS DURING HIS JOURNEY IN HARNESS RACING

Teenagers in the 1950’s were no different to their modern day counterparts when it came to planning their futures. Bill Ellis was a student at Sydney’s historic Fort Street High School around 1956 and had given very little thought to his likely future.

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JULIE’S HOMEBRED BOY IS STILL GOING STRONG A DECADE ON

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JULIE’S HOMEBRED BOY IS STILL GOING STRONG A DECADE ON

Most trainers are discouraged when one of their horses goes out at much longer odds than anticipated. Julie Henman certainly didn’t expect her veteran gelding Don Kee to be the rank outsider in a field of eight at Club Menangle on Tuesday March 23rd.

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ROMANCE LED BEN SETTREE TO A LIFE IN HARNESS RACING!

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ROMANCE LED BEN SETTREE TO A LIFE IN HARNESS RACING!

You’d be hard pressed to find a person in harness racing who wasn’t delighted to see Ben Settree train the winner of the Junee Pacing Cup last week. If a detractor does exist, he or she is obviously living on another planet.