Pete McMullen and Ben Yole are the “Kings” of Australian harness racing once again.

The Queensland-based McMullen and Tasmania’s Yole both successfully defended their respective J.D Watts Awards’ as Australia’s top driver and trainer in the recently completed 2022 season.

McMullen is just the third Queenslander to win the driving crown, following Kevin Thomas way back in 1981 and Shane Graham in 2015.

Nicknamed “Leader Peter” for his prowess as a front-running driver, McMullen finished 2023 with 266 wins, 29 clear of WA champion Gary Hall Jr. Then came another Queenslander, Nathan Dawson (235).

Victorian pair James Herbertson and Mark Pitt, backed by the strength of the Emma Stewart stable, both had fantastic years, finishing fourth and five respectively on 234 and 231 wins.

Yole’s dominance of Tasmanian harness racing, and recent Victorian success, saw him smash the Australasian record with a staggering 393 wins in 2022.

It easily bettered the previous record set by Queensland champion Grant Dixon at 340 wins in the 2018/19 season.

Incredibly, Yole trained 162 more winners than when he won the title for the first time in 2022 with 231 wins.

Yole is the only Tasmanian trainer to have won the title.

Victorian champion Emma Stewart, won the national training title in the 2017/18 with 309 wins, finished a very clear second to Yole last year with 304 wins.

Another Victorian, Julie Douglas was third with 193 wins then came the powerhouse WA combination of Greg and Skye Bond with 171 wins and Queensland’s Jack Butler enjoyed a fantastic 2023 to finish fifth on 163 wins.

The full standings for 2022 can be found below:

Trainers

Drivers

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Australia