Hot to trot Redwood Carnival begins Sunday

Twenty-five years ago, plans for a single harness racing meeting in country Victoria based purely on the splendor and speed of the square gaiter were perhaps most kindly described as an exercise of wishful thinking.

Square gaiting was a dying sport, the critics said, and the Maryborough Harness Racing Club would be lucky if the meeting held up.

But hold up it did, and if there was ever any doubt about the bullish resurgence of trotting back into the mainstream, Maryborough’s Redwood Carnival is proof in point.

That initial meeting for the “traditionalists” has morphed into an industry showcase – a three-day carnival that’s one of a kind in the Southern Hemisphere and renowned across Australia and even internationally. It’s made Maryborough – and “the Redwood” – the spiritual home of trotting in Australia.

“There’s an aura about the Redwood that’s hard to explain, but it’s there, and it’s grown into something special,” said Maryborough manager Les Chapman, who has spent close to a lifetime in the sport.

“The initial Redwood was just a race for two-year-old trotters but when the square trotter’s association and Merv Gay, the Maryborough Secretary at the time, got talking and decided to have an all-trot meeting, that’s when the doubters came out,” Chapman said.

“There were plenty who said they’d never get enough horses, so it was a bit of a leap of faith, but to their credit the trotting fraternity came out with enough nominations for 16 races that day! It was incredible.

“Trotting people love their game, and they love their trotters. Suffice to say that just about the only races we ever seem to struggle with getting enough nominations for are trotters’ claiming races – no one wants to get rid of their trotter!”

Chapman said day one of the 2021 carnival this Sunday amply demonstrated the revival of the sport at all levels.

“We have almost 100 horses going around, and 10 races,” he said.

“The feature on Sunday is heats of the Victorian Trotters Derby and we normally get enough for two heats – this time we have three full heats.

“There are incredible numbers of three-year-olds coming through, and some very, very good horses among them – these are the best of the best of their year going around.

“There are quite a few very successful stables that are now focusing entirely on square gaiters, most of the strong stables at least have a complement of trotters, and even small stables seem to have one or two.

“It’s fair to say trotting is on the march – the trotter is getting stronger and stronger in the market.”
Doubters persistently question the value of square-gaiting races by measure of betting turnover, but Chapman said that was no longer valid.

“It’s always been difficult to get a good line of sight on it with the way racing programs are structured, but the only way to test it, I think, is comparing like with like,” he said.

“So in 2019 the Sires Stakes trotting finals were held on a Friday night at Melton with 11 races and with 115 horses. The pacer’s finals the following night held the same number of races and same number of horses. The difference in betting was only around $1100 dollars per race over the card.”

The Redwood Carnival begins this Sunday with the Victoria Derby Heats, continues next Friday with another all-trotting program, and wraps up on Sunday week October 31 with the final of the $75,000 Haras Des Trotteurs Victoria Derby Final (Gr 1) and the feature, the $50,000 Aldebaran Park Redwood Classic (Gr 1) – a standing start event for two-year-old trotters.

And while it will be essential raceday personnel only on track throughout the carnival, Chapman is also optimistic about the opportunities that presents.

“We had a Trots Vision at our Maryborough Gold Cup Day last Sunday and we got great feedback on it. The team does a wonderful job in bringing the atmosphere to people at home and having that coverage was a fantastic contribution to the day,” he said.

“Of course, we can’t wait to have the crowds back at Redwood Day, but perhaps people will watch this year on Trots Vision, feel the atmosphere and excitement and make sure it’s in their diary to get along and experience it next year.”

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink