This is the sixth of several articles looking at currently active regional tracks of Victoria. This is the second part of a brief review of the history of club’s in the Bendigo area (previous/closed/current).
Regional Tracks : BENDIGO, 1900 to date
After a stellar beginning in the 1800’s, trotting events continued to feature at the annual Bendigo Agricultural Show, Bendigo Jockey Club’s meetings (Bendigo Jockey Club Open for example), Jubilee Park in Bendigo and at other locations throughout the Bendigo area in the first two decades of the twentieth century.
On 24 May 1922 the incomparable Globe Derby won off a 180 yds handicap at Bendigo Racecourse.
The original Bendigo Trotting Club established in November 1923 commenced racing on New Year’s Day 1924 and continued until lapsing in 1936. There were seven (original) Bendigo Trotting Cups in the 1920s and early 1930’s raced on the one mile dirt track at the Bendigo Jockey Club’s Epsom racecourse. Amazingly four of these Bendigo Cups were conducted by the newly inaugurated Bendigo Trotting Club in 1924. The first for £100 was run at the club’s inaugural meeting on 16 February 1924 with the winner Kinnie Bazil driven by William Riedell. The second on 19 July was won by champion trotter Grand Voyage owned by Busst and Glasheen of Belmont Stud in Huntly and ridden by Paddy Glasheen (grandfather of the “Pacing Priest” Father Brian Glasheen). The third postponed from 22 October to 28 October due to nine days of continuous rain was won by Queen Pirate NZ, again owned by Busst and Glasheen and piloted by Paddy Glasheen. A fourth Bendigo Cup in December was won by Horsham gelding Dummy, trained and ridden by Horsham barber Bill Fortington.
No further Bendigo Cup races until 1929, when First Cast (dr Orme Marshall of Ballarat) was the victor and in 1930 Princess Mauritius trained and driven by a young George Gath (then aged 23) was the winner. The final original Bendigo Cup was run in 1932 when Le Wilkes driven by Alex McPherson of Stawell was victorious, the race was then discontinued.
After a long recess, the Bendigo Trotting Club was revived in the 1950’s prior to the purchase of land at Junortoun (land encompasses what was once South Atlas Racecourse/Jubilee Park) and the building of a track and facilities that became Lord’s Raceway. From July 1951 until the opening of the new Club in November 1954 –
- 15 July 1951 the Bendigo and District Trotting Club (later HRC) was formed with an interim Committee elected
- Thursday 8 November 1951 the Trotting Control Board granted the Club registration and it expected to race on the Bendigo Racecourse when receiving its allocation of racing dates
- The Bendigo Advertiser advised that by 30 January 1952 the Club had been active and the report stated that an area of land was available very close to Bendigo; this being Garden Gully an area the Council was developing. Other venues investigated were the new Agricultural Showground’s Site in Holmes Road, the Marong Race Course and the Bendigo Racecourse
- 27 April 1952 Club’s Constitution adopted (approved by the Trotting Control Board in April 1954)
- April 1954 Building purchased for £525 to house the Secretary’s Office, Change room, Stewards room, Casualty room and Committee rooms
- 19 April 1954 agreed the track be named “LORD’S RACEWAY” as a compliment to the outstanding work of Ack Lord to Bendigo club and trotting in general such as being a generous supporter of many clubs, member of Trotting Control Board and Chairman of Metropolitan and Country Trotting Association
Lords Raceway at the outset was a half mile track that opened for racing under lights on Wednesday 17 November 1954 with 14,000 people in attendance. The Bendigo Advertiser reported a major traffic jam on McIvor Road with cars making a bumper to bumper line from the racetrack to the town’s centre. The winner of the opening race at Lords Raceway was New Boreen.
In 1956 modern facilities including a new tote house were unveiled and on 20 May 1958 the mobile barrier was utilised for the first time. Day trotting commenced in the winter of 1960 (Saturday 16 July) although this did not last long due to the advent of winter clubs at Cranbourne and Kilmore.
- 28 December 1966 the first night trials were conducted by the Club at Lords Raceway
- 14 October 1971 Bendigo went metric for distances/handicaps
- February 1972 the club was entitled to $65,000 over five years from Racecourse Development Fund
- October 1973 this figure had grown to $80,000 per annum for five years, to be available from the Trotting and Greyhound Development funds for improvements to the Raceway.
The March 1977 meeting was held at Shepparton due to the redevelopment of Lords Raceway at a total cost of $2m. Bendigo held the opening meeting on their reworked 850m track in August 1977. The benefits of the enlarged harness track were quickly evident with six track records being smashed in October 1977. The Director of Youth, Sport and Recreation, Mr Bert Keddie opened the initial stage of the multimillion dollar improvement plan on 9 November 1977. The duplex system of tracks (one harness, one greyhounds) were tied to one another by an amenities block. The tracks were separate yet linked by common facilities. The greyhounds moved to Lords Raceway in 1978.
On 4 April 1978 Royal Gaze driven by Roma Pocock time trialled in 1:58.3, a time subsequently claimed as a world record by a female driver. Stage two of the complex redevelopment then took place, virtually turning the track around with new facilities on the opposite side, opened in September 1982 by Mr Neil Tresize Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation.
In 1990 the Harness Racing Industry Training Centre Board Of Management (HRTC) was established to provide a point of entry for anyone wishing to participate in the harness racing industry. Bendigo was chosen because of the strength of the industry in the area and the willingness of the local trainers to assist with the development of students. The Centre with a state of the art stable complex maintains a team of horses for students to develop their practical skills. The horses are regularly raced providing valuable experience for the student group.
In recent years the Centre has developed a strong online capability, delivering the knowledge aspects of its courses online throughout Australia. The strength of the HRTC is its strong hands on training facility where students develop their horsemanship and build the skills necessary to train and drive harness horses. Accredited as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO22215) in 2010it has taken on both Thoroughbred and Greyhound Racing training in partnership with Racing Victoria and Greyhound Racing Victoria also developing online training facilities for Racing Queensland, Harness Racing NSW and Harness Racing SA.
In March 1992 a sub committee was formed to investigate the establishment of a Museum at the Club and a year later a proposal for a Museum/Theme Park for the complex was mooted (see 2014 for further progress). In 1995 the circuit was further transformed with spiral turns instituted together with the removal of the running rail. The grandstand became an all-weather facility with upgraded dining and betting facilities for the provision of comfort for patrons.
On 27 June 1997 Knight Pistol smashed the Australasian trotter’s race mile record by 2.5 seconds at Lords Raceway trotting 1:56.4 (stood for three years until bettered by Lyell Creek’s T1:55.6 at Ashburton, NZ). The inaugural Breeders Crown finals day was held on Sunday 3 May 1998. Bendigo was to host the Breeders Crown for seven consecutive years (1998 – 2004) until the finals day were allocated by tender and hosted first by Cranbourne (2005), then Ballarat (2006 – 2007), back again to Bendigo for one final time in August 2008 before being shifted permanently to Harness Racing Victoria headquarters at the newly developed TABCorp Park, Melton track in 2009.
The Goldwood Park sprint lane was established in March 2001 then following the most successful Breeders Crown meeting followed in August 2004. Planning commenced for a thousand metre track and on 16 September 2006 the final meeting on the 850m track was held, whilst the new track was prepared meetings were spread between Kilmore, Maryborough and Charlton. On 1 March 2007 the new thousand metre track was used for the first time. Following his death at Homevale Stud on 20 October 2006, champion trotter and thirty four year old stallion Maori’s Idol was buried next to the admission gates at the Bendigo Harness Racing Club’s Lords Raceway track.
In April 2011, the archway at the entry to Lord’s Raceway was demolished by Vic Roads to make way for the new McIvor Highway and Atlas Road intersection. The entry to Lord’s Raceway was widened with traffic lights installed for the safe crossing of horses and pedestrians at the intersection. Work commenced on new light dimming technology first installed at the Melton track which now provides Lords Raceway with substantial power savings.
On 3 November 2012 the Bendigo Harness Racing Club celebrated its fifty eighth year of racing at Lords Raceway with an Anniversary Cup race night (won by Shakchloe). The night also featured a Monte race (ridden/saddle Trot); a Veteran Drivers Challenge Trot** with current and past master reinsmen competing in a feature TAB race (winner : Keith Pratt); opening of a Race For Fun Club Historical Library and Royal Gaze ‘Local Hero’ wall of memory at the track.
** 2012 field : Jim Barker, Brian Gath, Graeme Dalton, Eric Hurley, Peter Manning, Keith Platt, Cliff Powell, Colin Redwood, Russell Thomson, Neville Walsh, Peter Wells. 2013 winner – Dick Lee; 2014 – Graeme Whittle; 2015 – Glenn Williams; 2016 – Brian Gath; 2017 – Russell Thomson; 2018 – Brian Gath; 2019 – Lance Justice; 2020 – not run; 2021 – planned for November, Anniversary Cup night
The fiftieth edition of the Bendigo Pacing Cup at Group Two level run on Saturday 11 January 2014 was won by Im Corzin Terror. Later on 15 November 2014, sixty years of racing at Lords Raceway was celebrated with drivers from the original meeting in attendance including Ted Zimmer who had driven a winner on opening night, Bob Birthisel who drove a second place getter, Des Rothacker, Norm Mannix and Colin Redwood.
The Bendigo Harness Racing Club (BHRC) began putting together its history and memorabilia collection in 2014. Under the guidance of a subcommittee of the Bendigo Harness Racing Club, volunteers Noel Ridge, Norm West and the late John Hall have completed a marvellous job over recent years with the collection of memorabilia they currently have.
In summary, the Bendigo Harness Racing Club at Lords Raceway is located close to Bendigo CBD. The club hosts approximately thirty two race days/nights per year. A premier country venue in Victoria due to its outstanding 1,000 metre racetrack and excellent on-course facilities, including two function rooms and outlooks over the home straight of the track. The Lords Raceway Greyhound track is situated over the back of the harness track.
Track Information –
Circumference: 1000.00 metres
Length of Home Straight: 185.00 metres
Radius of Turns: 110 metres
Track surface: Granitic Sand
Racing Distances: Mobile: 1609m, 1650m, 2150m, 2650m, 3150m Stand: 1650m, 2150m, 2650m, 3150m
Direction: Anti-Clockwise
Fields: Mobile – 12; Stand – 12
Front Line: Mobile – 7; Stand – 7
Sprint Lane: Yes
The Group 2 Bendigo Pacing Cup has been the headline race for the club each season (January) since 1965 with a notable honour roll filled with classy performers – see www.bhrc.com.au or www.classicfamilies.net for details. On the same evening the Group One Maori Mile held since 2010 is run while in June the Group Three Bendigo Trotters Cup run since 1972 are other feature races.
Lords Raceway mile rate track records –
Pacer : 1650m Ride High on 1 August 2020, 1:49.0 mile rate, second fastest outside Menangle apart from Lochinvar Art’s 1:48.6 (1720m) at Melton, both 1,000m tracks – only sub 1:50 times recorded in Australasia other than at Menangle (1400m track).
Trotter : Sparkling Success T1:53.9 on 6 January 2018 (Maori Mile)
Following Australian or Australasian records established on Lords Raceway :
Australian Pacing Mares mile record : Sheza Mona 1:53.3TT on 8 August 1997
Australian Trotters Mares Mile record Dealornofdeal T1:55.5TT on 19 February 2012
Australasian Trotters Mile race record Knight Pistol T1:56.4 on 27 June 1997
Many top performers have graced Lords Raceway over the years, far too many to mention here. Many of the modern champions of Australasian harness racing have made appearances at Bendigo’s track.
Next Time : Melbourne Metropolitan Tracks
Peter Craig
18 August 2021
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
