Sport
26 March, 2026
Big night for harness racing
THE finishing touches are underway as the Terang Harness Racing Club prepares for its night of nights.
The club is preparing celebrations for the running of the Terang Pacing Cup, the biggest night on the club’s calendar, this Friday – March 27.
Terang Harness Racing Club president Chis O’Connor said all indications were pointing to a great night for the club’s marquee event.
“We would love to have a big crowd.
“It’s only $10 to get in.
“We’ve got lots of activities including lots of kids activities with things like face painting, fake tattoos, lots of food, sand art, balloon twisting, badge making – all sorts of things for kids.
“We want this very much to be a family night.
“People can come at 5.30pm before it gets cooler, but we’re confident there will be something for everyone.”
Mr O’Connor said he was hoping to see an eight-race program with some of the industry’s biggest names descending on Terang.
“The quality of horses will be very strong,” he said.
“We’ll have horses from some of the very best trainers.
“We have a strong history of dominant horses taking part – Blacks A Fake is probably our marquee cup winner.
“He went on to win four Inter-Dominion meetings after he won the Terang Cup, so we’ve historically been seen as a major harness racing country cup.”
The evening will include a celebrity sulky race featuring South West Coast MP Roma Britnell, Terang and Mortlake Bloods’ coach Lewis Taylor, Wannon MP Dan Tehan, horse trainer Symon Wilde and racing commentator Matty Stewart.
There will also be an appearance from one of the stars of the industry – the locally trained Keayang Zahara, who at four-years-old is currently considered the most dominant horse in the industry and fresh off a commanding win at Melton.
“Keayang Zahara will definitely be here; she may be racing in the cup itself but it depends as she has a large race coming up the following week (the $600,000 TAB Trot in New Zealand).
“It will depend how her program is progressing but she will certainly make an appearance though.”
Mr O’Connor launched this year’s event with Terang and District Co-op chief executive officer Gary Tempany, in celebration of more than a decade of ongoing support.
“We can’t thank the Terang and District Co-op for their sponsorship enough,” he said.
“They are the heart of Terang.
“They are one of the town’s biggest employers, providing us with everything from groceries to produce and hardware. I couldn’t imagine the town without the Terang Co-op.
“They’ve been major sponsors for over a decade and we really appreciate it.
“Those sorts of sponsors are few and far between but it really helps to keep our club alive and we deeply appreciate it.”
Mr Tempany said he was proud to continue the Co-op’s legacy of supporting community events such as the Terang Pacing Cup.
“It’s been a long-standing sponsorship of over a decade,” he said.
“The Co-op is proud to be part of it and we’re looking forward to the continued success of the Terang Harness Racing Club.
“Harness racing is very popular in the region – the Lee family has a super horse in Keayang Zahara, which is going around and winning big races in the city and up in Sydney.
“There’s a pretty solid legacy of harness racing in Terang and the wider district.
“This area can breed some quality horses which puts Terang on the map.”
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