Harvey Cup is back after popular demand

The Harvey Cup returns with the 2025 feature to be held at the Pinjarra Harness Racing Club on Monday, April 21, the Easter Monday long weekend.

Harvey Trotting Club closed its gates in May 2014 after and after 11 years the Pinjarra Harness Racing Club is pleased to announce that the Harvey Cup will now take pride of place on its yearly racing calendar due to popular demand and support from Harvey residents and business owners.

A time-honoured race dating back to the early 1900’s, Pinjarra Harness Racing Club with massive thanks to local engineering company, Dwyer Engineering, The Harvey Cup with be run each year on Easter Monday at the Pinjarra Paceway.

Dale Putland, General Manager of Pinjarra Harness Racing Club said, “The Harvey Cup was an important and time-honoured race on the Country Harness Racing Club calendar and the club is thrilled to be able to bring the race back to life to recognise the Harvey Cup’s history.”

Thanks to the generosity of Jack Dwyer and Dwyer Engineering to celebrate the day, the club will be holding a free family fun day with plenty of kids’ entertainment including face painting, free lolly bags and zooper doper icy poles, live music and great racing, as well as the pint-sized racers, the pony trotters.

The Harvey District Trotting Club began running meetings continuously from 1927 when the club became affiliated with the West Australian Trotting Association (WATA).

In 1979, a new 800m track and buildings were built 3km north of Harvey and after financial difficulties occurred during the late 1980’s, Chris King-Lethbridge and the Panetta brothers contributed the sufficient funds to purchase the track, with the club later honouring him by naming the complex King-Lethbridge Park.

Chris King-Lethbridge passed away in 2003 at age 92, hopeful that racing would continue at Harvey Districts Trotting Club for many years to come. Sadly, they ran their last race some 11 years later.

Former club members and Harvey residents are encouraged to get along to the race day to celebrate the return of the Harvey Cup at Pinjarra on Monday, April 21.

by Ashleigh Paikos, for RWWA