By Michael Floyd
The Cranbourne Harness Racing Club is celebrating a major milestone with the club’s training centre recording its 500th winner at Melton last week.
A small team of Cranbourne trainers headed to the western Melbourne venue with 498 winners and quickly recorded win 499 when Scott Ewen’s trotter Meadow Valley Star scored his first win at the venue.
Three races later, Ewen completed a winning double when Ubetta Knot led all of the way to score by six metres and race into the record books.
“The club is thrilled to bring up winner number 500 for the Training Centre,” said Cameron Gallagher, Cranbourne Harness Racing Club General Manager.
“The committee has worked tirelessly since the Training Centre opened in 2012 to grow and expand the centre and improve the facilities available to the trainers.
“We’re very proud of the work out trainers do, and we’re delighted to see them enjoy continued success.”
Opened in 2012, the Cranbourne Training Centre was built to provide an opportunity for trainers to participate in the sport of harness racing without the expense involved in constructing training facilities of their own.
It has since gained a reputation as a world-class training facility, attracting trainers from interstate and New Zealand and is now home to 17 trainers with 70 horses in work.
The centre will soon expand further with construction of another 12-horse boxes.
“The centre plays an important role in growing the sport of harness racing in the south east suburbs,” continued Gallagher.
“It is a close-knit community that works out of the centre.
“As well as the facilities available to all of our trainers, one of the strongest features of the centre is the willingness of our experienced trainers to share their knowledge with those starting out.
“That knowledge and experience is invaluable and one of the reasons the centre has been as successful as it has.”
The centre has now recorded 44 winners in 2024 and is on track to eclipse the record 87 winners registered in 2023.
Harness racing will continue at Cranbourne this Sunday evening.
