by Adam Hamilton

Some of the world’s best drivers are eyeing-off a trip Down Under for an exciting and innovative new series early next year.

North American superstars Tim Tetrick and Jody Jamieson are among those excited about and hugely supportive of the “Ultimate Driver Championship” scheduled for Brisbane’s Albion Park next February.

In a world first, 10 slot owners will choose their driver — from anywhere around the world — and horses to compete across two nights and 20 races with over $250,000 in prize money on offer.

Global wagering giant Entain, through its Ladbrokes brand, will sponsor the series and take one slot. The other nine slots will sell for $20,000 each and are sure to be in high demand.

The winning driver and their slot holder will earn $100,000 with each individual race winning driver banking $1,000.

“I absolutely love the concept of the Ladbrokes Ultimate Driver Championship,” Tetrick said. “This type of innovation brings energy and excitement to reward our fans and fellow horse lovers.”

Tetrick, a Hall of Famer with more than 13,000 career wins, added: “What a fantastic way to add interest to the sport of harness racing on a global level.”

Canadian superstar Jamieson, a two-time World Driving Champion, was equally as excited.

“What a great idea,” Jamieson said. “This concept will bring many more eyes to harness racing. The Ultimate Driver has the opportunity to become the greatest show on dirt.

“It’s a very exciting event that is sure to pique the interest of drivers and racing and sporting fans, not just in Australia, but across the globe.”

The joint initiative of Albion Park and Racing Queensland was launched on Wednesday night (May 29).

“The Ultimate Driver series will not only be the quest to find the world’s No. 1 driver, but will also be a game of strategy and a chance to win big with over $250,000 up for grabs,” Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott said. “We are encouraging as many people as possible to get involved and apply for slots, with preference given to applications from syndicates and those that provide promotional value to both the event and the Queensland racing industry.

“This series will be a great way to showcase the best drivers in the world right here in our backyard at Albion Park.”

Aussie expats Todd and Andy McCarthy, along with New Zealander Dexter Dunn are also sure to be in hot demand.

“Given the growing relationship between Australasia and North American harness racing, we think the Ladbrokes Ultimate Driver will appeal to both leading drivers and potentially even slot holders in the USA and Canada,” Racing Queensland’s senior harness manager David Brick said. “We see the exploits of our horses and participants such as the McCarthys and Dexter Dunn on a daily basis in North America, while from a breeding perspective, access to their best stallions has seen the breed here move ahead in leaps and bounds, Leap To Fame being living proof.

“In more recent times, broadcasting has helped stimulate wagering on each other’s product, to the point where Sky Racing’s [Australia] Brittany Graham will attend this year’s North America Cup to cover it for back home.

“We have specifically targeted the series early in the year to align with the ‘off-season’ in North America and we’d love to see a slot holder or two bring one of the leading drivers Down Under to compete for the large pot.”

Excitingly, the February time slot is not only quiet in the northern hemisphere but absolute peak feature race time Down Under.

The huge Hunter Cup Carnival at Melton is late January/early February and then we roll into the Carnival of Miracles, headlined by the $1-million Miracle Mile in late February/early March.

So, any international driver who heads down for the Ultimate Driver Championship could easily come early for the Victorian feature racing and/or stay later to be part of the Carnival of Miracles.

“We will definitely look to bring down one of the top U.S. drivers if we can,” Ladbrokes Australia CEO Dean Shannon said about their slot. “It’s a terrific concept, nothing like we’ve seen before, and we’d love to add to the international flavor of it.

“It would be great to see some of the best drivers from around the world going at it across 20 races at Albion Park.”

Some of the top Aussie drivers sure to be considered include established superstars Gary Hall, Jr., Chris Alford, Luke McCarthy, Pete McMullen, Kate Gath, Greg Sugars, Kerryn Manning and Nathan Dawson, along with younger stars like Cam Hart, Jack Callaghan, Deni Roberts, James Herbertson and Angus Garrard.

Full information for the Ladbrokes Ultimate Driver Championship is available here.