by Adam Hamilton

Three things are driving a resurgence in Down Under harness racing.

Two of them are equine and the other is innovation, and just as importantly, the embracement of it.

We are blessed to have not just two stars, but a pair of potentially all-time greats on the equine front in the trotter Just Believe and pacer Leap To Fame.

I have written plenty about them before and I will update you on them again later, but let’s get to the third “driver” of positivity Down Under.

They are slot races.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise because, although slot races have mixed success globally, they work Down Under – and big time.

The single greatest global example is The Everest in thoroughbred racing.

Since its inception in 2017, The Everest has become a phenomenon. Prize money is up to $20 million, the Royal Randwick track is packed to the rafters with almost 50,000 fans and momentum is still building.

Hunger for one of the 12 slots is utterly off the grid.

New South Wales racing officials are exploring ways to activate the infield of Randwick — Sydney’s home of racing — to allow for a larger crowd to satisfy the growing masses wanting to be part of the day.

It is not just a racing event; it’s almost instantly become a must attend on the Sydney social calendar.

And, perhaps, it’s greatest success of all… The Everest has engaged a new, younger generation of racegoers and fans.

Any racing administrator will tell you that is the golden ticket in a sport so often considered a bit tired and traditional.

Remarkably, The Everest is now genuinely rivalling the Melbourne Cup — a race first run in 1861 and dubbed “The Race that Stops a Nation” — as the most talked-about and promoted race Down Under.

It took harness racing a little while to look at the rapid and stunning success of The Everest and jump on the bandwagon with marquee slot races of its own.

But, thankfully, it did.

We now have six slot races across Australia and New Zealand and, combined, they drive the vast majority of the PR and media coverage harness racing gets Down Under.

We are right in the midst of it now with three of the biggest slot races just around the corner. Cambridge in NZ hosts the $1mil Race By Grins for pacers and the first edition of the $575,000 TAB Trot on April 12.

Just a week later we have the $1.25mil Group 1 Nullarbor for pacers at Perth’s Gloucester Park.

The banter, media coverage and social content around which horses will race where and who’s slot has been building for months. It is now at fever pitch with the races just weeks away.

Our biggest slot race of all and the world’s richest pacing race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka, is still six months away, but hype and interest is already building. One slot is already locked-in for buzz worthy Western Australian 4-year-old Never Ending. He will become the first competitor for his state in the race on Sept. 7.

Never Ending also landed a slot for his hometown Nullarbor and the inter-twined interest of that race into the TAB Eureka is a chapter in itself.

But back to what is just around the corner.

There were dozens of stories about which race — Cambridge or Gloucester Park — the great Leap To Fame would go to. In the end, he is missing both and having a rest at home with some mega targets later in the year.

While it is not ideal the Race By Grins and Nullarbor are so close because they absolutely cannibalize each other to at least some extent, both drive great publicity in their respective countries.

It is well documented Cambridge chief Dave Branch went out on a limb, with very little support from the sport’s controlling body Harness Racing NZ, to bring the Race By Grins to life in 2022.

Buoyed by its success, Branch dared to “go again” and pitched hard for a trotting equivalent.

In his own words it was a “mad scramble,” but he got there.

“I’m so glad we did,” he said. “It is going to be an amazing race; some say the best trotting race in this part of the world for 25 years or so. It could not have happened without the great support of the many people we had to lean on to support it, take slots and sponsor the race.

“Hopefully they can all take pride in the sort of race we’ve been able to pull together. Getting at least four Aussies across for it is beyond our wildest dreams and, of course, Just Believe being one of them is so special. It will be his first race in NZ and he might even stay here after it for a few other races.”

While Leap To Fame has hogged the headlines in recent times with his historic Triple Crown of pacing and record-breaking Miracle Mile win to cap it off, Just Believe is still the biggest global act in Down Under harness racing.

And that is evidenced by the fact the Swedes are still reportedly doing everything they can to try and lure Just Believe back for another tilt at the famed Elitloppet at Solvalla in May.

The world has seen what Just Believe can do in the flesh, they have only been able to admire Leap To Fame from afar.

As great as Just Believe has been with 10 wins and a whisker second in 11 starts since returning from his Swedish raid last year, trainer Jess Tubbs concedes the depth and quality of the TAB Trot will make it one of his greatest challenges.

“No doubt about that,” she said. “Just Believe has shown our trotters are right there on an international level. Then you’ve got Callmethebreeze, who was a European Group 1 winner and has slotted right in Down Under so well, and the best of the Kiwis in the seriously talented Muscle Mountain.

“We know he’s going to have to be right at the top of his game as well as hopefully getting a good barrier and luck in running.

“But it’s so good for the sport to have a new race like this TAB Trot which has tapped into and drawn together the terrific pool of trotting talent we’ve got in Australia and NZ at the moment.”