Harness racing is said to have had its origins in the days of the Roman empires when chariots were the popular mode of transport as well as the centre of racing attention. Harness racing or what people commonly refer to as the Trots has a long history in the Newcastle region. Organised trotting can be traced back to the early part of last century where regular events were conducted at the Hamilton speedway.
In the early days it was not uncommon for drivers to sit in a saddle on the back like a jockey while others paced in sulkies. Trotting was conducted at the Broadmeadow showground for 50 years from 1949 to 1989. In 1949 Newcastle became the second club in NSW, after Harold Park to conduct night time trotting. When the era of mobile racing began it was evident that the tiny Broadmeadow showground would not cope with the change from standing start races to mobile starts.
The search was on for a new venue. A number of sites and options were considered. At one time it looked like the 3 trotting clubs in the area, Newcastle, Maitland and Cessnock would combine and race as one club at a central venue at Beresfield. This did not eventuate. In the mid 1980's there was a strong push to have a Newcastle team in the NSW rugby league competition. When this was approved the rugby league ground at the International Sports centre, which was to be, and still is, the home ground of the Newcastle Knights had to be redesigned from an oval shape to a rectangular shape.
This design change freed up sufficient space behind the stadium for some clever harness racing officials at the time to push for a harness racing track to be built on that land. Their dreams came to fruition in October 1989 when the Newcastle International pace way opened to a crowd of 10,000 people. The reputation of the track was set that night when champion Pacer Rowleyalla won the inaugural Newcastle Mile in a NSW record time of 1.55.8.
The 940 metre track is considered the best track in NSW and one of the best in Australia The 940 metre circuit is the only track in Australia that starts 10 runner off the front line. The track hold numerous records including a world record (Mile rate 1.57.6 for 2550 metres off a 20 metre handicap) for the win of Ultra Jet in the 1994 Newcastle Cup {standing start} and the Australasian Mile record set by Quantum Lobell (1.53.1} in the 1997 Newcastle Mile. The next significant moment in our development was the opening of our award winning grandstand in October 1994.
This wonderful facility has allowed us to join the entertainment circuit in Newcastle and attract a new clientele to the Newcastle paceway. Two significant racing events occurred that heightened the reputation of the Newcastle paceway. In 1997 we hosted our first ever Grand Circuit event when we ran the $100,000 Australian Pacing Championship.
The grand circuit is the ultimate in harness racing. Each State has a grand circuit race and the culmination each year is the Inter Dominion. A grand circuit race must be run for a minimum of $100,000. Apart from the inter dominion the Australian pacing championship is the only event that rotates around each State of Australia. Newcastle successfully tendered to stage the event to coincide with our Bi centenary celebrations.
Another ground breaking event was the 2002 Inter dominion. This is the most prestigious event in harness racing. It rotates each year from State to State as well as the North and South island of New Zealand. In 2002 in was Sydney's turn to host the event and for the first time ever the NSW harness racing club broke tradition and transferred a round of heats to Newcastle. The Inter dominion is normally run over 2 weeks with 3 rounds of heats. Horses earn points during the heats to determine who will contest the rich final. The Mile heats were run at Newcastle on the 5th March 2002 and a massive crowd turned out to witness a great night for the sport.
The future of Harness racing at Newcastle was further ensured when on the 1st July 2004 the NHRC became the regional racing centre for the entire region and the only club to conduct TAB racing. The club will run 76 meetings per annum comprised of Saturday night's and Thursday afternoons.
© Copyright 2006, Newcastle Harness Racing Club.
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