Cardigan Bay was a New Zealand harness racing pacer foaled 1 September 1956. Affectionately known as "Cardy", he was the first Standardbred to win US$1 million in prize money in North America. He was the ninth horse worldwide to win one million dollars,. Cardigan Bay won races in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Young Quinn, a New Zealand standardbred racehorse, was successful in period where his competition in the sport of trotting was particularly strong. Foaled in 1969, he was by Young Charles out of Loyal Trick by Hal Tryax (USA). Named after Brian "Snow" Quinn, a champion New Zealand sheep shearer, he was trained and driven by the great Charles Stewart Hunter (Charlie). He was nicknamed 'Garbage' as a result of his habit of eating anything in sight, as a young horse. It was later revealed by cardiograph tests that Young Quinn's heart weighed 13 lb, only 1 lb less than that of the great racehorse Phar Lap.
Paleface Adios (1969–1989) was an Australian harness racing horse which competed as a pacer throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. He raced from 1972 to 1981, when there was top competition from the likes of the Hondo Grattan and Pure Steel.
Pure Steel is the only pacer to win the A G Hunter Cup, a race over 3,050 metres and the richest handicap race for pacers in the world, three times, in 1977, 1978, and 1980. He was the first Standardbred horse to win A$500,000 in Australia. Pure Steel also won the WA Benson & Hedges Cup four times. Affectionately known as Steelo or the "Tungsten Terror", he raced from 1974 until 1983 and won just under $1 million, at a time when competition was strong, with the great horses Paleface Adios and Hondo Grattan as competitors.
Harness racing, also colloquially known as trotting or the trots, is a spectator sport in Australia, with significant amounts of money wagered annually with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). In Australia there are 90 harness racing tracks, which hold over 1,900 meetings annually. There are approximately 2,900 drivers and 4,000 trainers with about 5,000 Standardbred horses foaled and registered each year.
Popular Alm (1976–2000) was an Australian bred Standardbred pacer. He was one of the fastest pacers Australia has produced, running exceptional times over many distances. Popular Alm set a world record for a mile time trial at Moonee Valley on 13 May 1983, running 1:53.2. He raced 62 times over seven seasons for 49 wins, seven seconds and three thirds for stake earnings of $710,883. He was known as "Poppy".
Maori's Idol was an Australian Standardbred racehorse. He was the first Australian trotter to break two minutes with a time of 1:59.3 on 19 November 1977 at Moonee Valley. Maori's Idol became one of Australia's greatest trotters, with a record 24 successive race victories before being placed third in the 1978 Melbourne Inter-Dominion Final. He is still the trotting record holder with 22 wins in a season. He was superior to his rivals. He could have gone through his career unbeaten had he been placed to advantage by his connections.
San Simeon is a Standardbred pacer from Western Australia best known for his Australasian record winning sequence of 29 races from his first start as a two-year-old until his defeat by Michael Frost during the 1981 Interdominion series in Hobart, Tasmania. He also won three consecutive Australian Harness Horse of the Year awards.
Harold Park Paceway was a harness racing track in Forest Lodge, New South Wales, in use from 1890 to 2010. It was a half-mile track but was just 739 metres in circumference until some changes in its later years. Races at the track were run over distances of 1,760m, 2,160m, 2,565m and occasionally 2,965m. Before its configuration, events were run over one mile, 9 furlongs and 170 yards, 11 and three quarter furlongs, 13 furlongs and 98 yards and 15 furlongs and 92 yards - these distances were all for standing starts. For mobile racing, the distances were one mile, 9 and a half furlongs and 11 and a half furlongs.
Blacks A Fake is a brown Standardbred gelding that won the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 Inter Dominion Championships, making him the only four-time winner of Australasia's premier harness race. He finished second, beaten by a long neck, in the 2009 Inter Dominion to Mr Feelgood (USA). His other achievements include wins in the Victoria Cup and Hunter Cup and three Australian Horse of the Year titles. He is Australasia's highest earning Standardbred, and was the world's highest earning pacer. He also was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
The Inter Dominion Hall of Fame is an organization created to recognise and honour those whose achievements have enriched the world of the Harness racing industry, particularly in the Inter Dominion series. The hall of fame was created to honor the standardbred annual races of the Inter Dominion which includes the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship. The races are held in a rotating cycle in Australia and New Zealand. The 2020 race is being held in New South Wales.
Captain Joy is a Standardbred pacing racehorse whose wins include 6 Group 1 victories including three Derbies, 13 consecutive wins as a 2 and 3 year old and a total of 26 wins through to the end of his 6 year old season.
Monkey King is a leading New Zealand Standardbred racehorse. He is most noted for winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup and New Zealand Free-For-All double in two consecutive years, in 2009 and 2010, the first time this has ever been achieved. He also won the Miracle Mile Pace and the Auckland Trotting Cup in the 2009/10 season, as well as running second in the Inter Dominion Grand Final. As a result, he achieved the highest-earning season ever by a New Zealand pacer, and was crowned New Zealand Horse of the Year. These victories came after several top successes as a 3 and 4 year-old and consistently rating among the top horses in New Zealand over the following years. He was inducted to the Addington Harness Hall of Fame in 2019. He was at the time New Zealand's richest ever pacer with over $3,400,000 in stakes.
Gammalite was an Australian bred Standardbred racehorse who was the first Standardbred to win A$1 million in Australia. He was regarded as one of Australia's most successful pacers with 16 Group one wins. He won the Inter Dominion Championship twice and was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Koala King was a former champion Australian Standardbred pacing horse of the 1970s and 80s who won a host of Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit and feature races including the 1980 Inter Dominion Pacing Championship at Harold Park Paceway and the 1981 A G Hunter Cup. He won a record 40 races at the old Harold Park Paceway prior to its closure. Koala King won a total of seventy eight races.
Halwes was a racehorse, a Tasmanian pacer, foaled in 1959 who was notable for his win in the 1968 Miracle Mile Pace, an Australian record time trial, and his dramatic late scratching at the 1968 Inter Dominion.
Village Kid was an Australian champion standardbred race horse bred in New Zealand. He was twice awarded the title of Australian Harness Horse of the Year and was known as "Willie".
Smoken Up is an Australian champion Standardbred race horse bred in New Zealand. He was the first pacer outside North America to record a mile in under 1:50. He was known as Trigger.
Westburn Grant (1985–2020) was an Australian champion Standardbred race horse notable for being a three time Australian Harness Horse of the Year.
Im Themightyquinn is an Australian champion Standardbred race horse notable for being a three time Australian Harness Horse of the Year and three time winner of the Inter Dominion. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
