About
The inaugural 2007 West Australian Racing Industry Hall of Fame will be a prestigious and high profile event celebrating Western Australia's long, distinguished and eventful racing history that includes more than 150 years of thoroughbred racing, 115 years of harness racing and 30 years of greyhound racing.
It is an industry that has produced a seemingly endless line of colourful and at times controversial characters and many champion performers on the track. The luminaries of WA pacing include the 'mighty' Mount Eden in the 1970s, Pure Steel, Preux Chevalier, San Simeon and the enormously popular Village Kid in the decades that followed.
Greyhound racing's brief history has already generated a long list of outstanding performers headlined by the legendary Sandi's Me Mum who raced 92 times for an incredible 62 victories before retiring in 1991 and being immortalised in the National Greyhound Hall of Fame.
In more recent times, WA racing has been best represented by champion galloper Northerly, whose popularity transcended racing and created a loyal fan base among many who had never previously held a keen interest in the sport of kings. Northerly and his trainer and part owner Fred Kersley became ambassadors of the highest order for WA racing, their legacy clearly still evident in the continuing growth of racing audiences in WA since the retirement of the great horse.
The prominence and popularity of racing as a social pursuit is such that New Years Day at Ascot has become one of the very biggest days on the Perth social calendar, consistently attracting crowds in excess of 40,000.
All three racing codes are noted for their considerable contribution to community; each enjoy a significant following, generating support in large numbers and contributing strongly to the sporting fabric of WA and the nation.
Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) has determined the time is exactly right for the introduction of the West Australian Racing Industry Hall of Fame to recognise those individuals and animals that have significantly impacted the racing industry through outstanding performance.
The initial raft of inductee nominations will include horses, jockeys, trainer/drivers, greyhounds and associates.
In short, there has never been a better time to highlight and celebrate the contribution WA racing has made to the national industry and to the sporting landscape in WA by acknowledging the outstanding achievements of legendary performers across the three racing codes.