Female champions’ achievements showcased in harness racing heritage collection

DEDICATED to preserving the sport’s rich history, the Victorian Harness Racing Heritage Collection (VHRHC) at Bendigo’s Lord’s Raceway is shining a light on the achievements of a pair of female trailblazers and current day driving stars.

New among the treasure trove of exhibits that includes trophies, photos, sulkies, records, membership badges, race programs, magazines and much more are the racing colours of champion drivers Kerryn Manning and Kate Gath.

They were donated by the drivers themselves on request by the VHRHC committee and are part of a concentrated effort to champion the efforts of females in harness racing.

Manning, the world’s most successful female harness racing driver, can lay claim to having driven more than 4300 winners in a star-studded career spanning more than 30 years.

Included are 40 Group 1 victories.

Gath, fast approaching 2200 career wins, leads all Australian female drivers with 59 Group 1 victories.

A list of those and many other achievements accompany their colours, now on display in the heritage collection’s home underneath the grandstand at Lord’s Raceway.

For VHRHC committee members Norm West and Stephen Spark say the exhibits are a fitting tribute to two champions of the sport.

“I saw Kerryn at the Charlton trots when our horse from the Pacers Bendigo syndicate was running and I thought to myself, ‘should I ask her, or should I not’,” Spark said.

“I thought, bugger it, so I approached her and told her I was from the Bendigo history room and was there any chance you would donate your colours, as we are looking to do a female display. She jumped at the chance.

“And then Bendigo Pacing Cup night in January, Kate and Andy Gath were sitting out the back here at Lord’s, and I thought to myself, it would be nice to have Kate’s colours as well.

“I approached her and she jumped at the chance as well.”

The VHRHC committee is working diligently on securing the colours of another of harness racing’s leading stars Jodi Quinlan, whose 19 Group 1 wins sit proudly among nearly 2300 career victories.

Manning and Gath’s colours complement those of Victorian Harness Racing Hall of Fame member Alice Laidlaw, who West credits as being the ‘inspiration’ for the increased focus on female participants.

One of Australia’s most respected and accomplished female riders, Laidlaw excelled at educating, training, riding, driving, hunting and jumping.

She is credited as being one of the first females to drive and win against the men in the 1920s.

Her colours were donated a few years ago by family.

The brainchild of Bendigo harness racing enthusiast and historian, the late Noel Ridge, and West about 10 years ago, the heritage collection has continued to grow in size and prominence.

A revamped collection, enhanced by new glass casing and feature lighting, was officially opened last April on Bendigo Trotters Cup night.

West said he was thrilled with how the collection continued to evolve.

“We were lucky to get a grant from Melbourne, via the Victorian Harness Racing Board, and that gave us the big display area we needed to showcase the many items,” he said.

“Ever since then, it’s been just trying to build it up and balance it up and to get the whole array of things associated with harness racing on display.

“You’ve got the old harness, the colours, sulkies and photos – we’ve got a bit of everything.”

Equally important as the items themselves, according to Spark, is having a story attached to the various pieces.

“It makes them a lot more interesting, knowing the history behind them,” he said.

“We get so many items from families, etcetera, but if we can get the background, there is something to build on.

“And most times there is a great story to be told.”

The collection’s oldest exhibit dates to the 1880s and the oldest trophy to 1917.