Elizabeth and Bruce Clarke pictured after both being awarded the 2008 Gordon Rothacker Medal
Bruce and Elizabeth Clarke created history on Saturday night when they were crowned the 2008 Gordon Rothacker Medallists in front of a sell out crowd at Moonee Valley Racecourse.
The Terang husband-and-wife combination are the first joint winners of Victorian harness racing’s premier honour.
Named in honour of the man who won 14 Melbourne Drivers’ Premierships and 10 Melbourne Trainers’ Premierships, the Rothacker Medal recognises those who have had an outstanding contribution to harness racing over a sustained period.
The Clarkes were stunned to learn they had joined Ian McCallum, Geoff Hill, Jim Barker, Ron Pocock, Matt Donaldson and last year’s winner Peter Manning on the Rothacker Medal honour roll.
“We’re totally shocked,” Elizabeth said. “Gordon Rothacker is the ultimate legend of our sport and to win the award named in his honour is just unbelievable.”
Bruce Clarke, 60, holds a special place in Australian harness racing history as the regular driver of two-time Inter Dominion winner Gammalite. He also won a Hunter Cup and three South Australian Cups and maintains a strong involvement in the sport today.
Elizabeth Clarke, who recently turned 59, is one of Victorian harness racing’s most tireless administrators. She had no background in harness racing when she accepted the role of stewards’ stenographer at Terang as a 17-year-old but in the ensuing years has been hands-on in almost every aspect of the industry.
Secretary at the Terang Harness Racing Club since 1995, Elizabeth was named Harness Racing Victoria’s part-time Secretary of the Year for the 2001-02 season and won the 2003 Pearl Kelly Award.
Saturday night’s ceremony was also where the outstanding performers of the 2007/08 season came in for recognition.
Maryborough Harness Racing Club was rewarded for its increasingly prominent role in the Victorian harness racing landscape when it was crowned the Country Club of the Year.
Mildura and Cobram are both celebrating multiple awards. Mildura won both the Best Country Cup Meeting and the Best Local Media Coverage awards, while Cobram was crowned the Country Club of the Year (12 meetings or less) with secretary Alan Dennett taking out the Secretary of the Year (Part-Time) trophy.
Meticulous Cranbourne chief executive David Scott claimed the Frank Ryan Secretary of the Year award, Kyabram’s Ian Purdey took out the Graduation Secretary of the Year award, while Breeders Crown hosts Bendigo were crowned the Best Presented Venue.
The AVCHRC Volunteer Recognition Award was one of three new awards presented on the night. It was taken home by John Byrne who's been a member of the Boort Harness Racing Club committee since 1964 serving decade long stints as both secretary and president during that time.
The other new awards were presented to the state's best curators. Jordan Robinson, who prepares the track at Ballarat and Moonee Valley, was Curator of the Year for clubs with 20 meetings or more, whilst Stawell's Peter Bowen was Curator of the Year for those with less than 20 meetings.
HRV’s annual media awards were also presented on the night with Denis Craven from the Geelong Advertiser taking out the sought-after Outstanding Service to Harness Racing by a Media Personality.
Dennis has been covering harness racing in Geelong for more three decades. He wrote about the opening of Beckley Park in 1978 and was still dedicating plenty of space to the sport when Geelong hosted the heats of the Watpac Inter Dominion earlier this year.
Dennis received a trophy and $500 travel voucher for his win. All other award winners received $500 cash.
Adam Hamilton from the Herald Sun won the Best News Story, while his colleague Matt Stewart won the Best Feature. The Bendigo Advertiser’s Raelee Tuckerman won the Best Country Feature, ABC Grandstand’s Peter Walsh picked up the Best Radio Feature, Tim Hodges from Channel 10 claimed the Best TV Story or Feature and Gary Wild snared the Best Photograph award.
The full list of Saturday night’s award winners are:
Gordon Rothacker Medallist – Bruce and Elizabeth Clarke
Country Club of the Year (More than 12 meetings) – Maryborough
Country Club of the Year (12 or less meetings) – Cobram
Country Club of the Year (Graduation) – Elmore
Frank Ryan Secretary of the Year (Full Time) – David Scott (Cranbourne)
Secretary of the Year (Part-Time) – Alan Dennett (Cobram)
Secretary of the Year (Graduation) – Ian Purdey (Kyabram)
Best Country Cup Meeting – Mildura
Best Local Media Coverage – Mildura
Best Presented Venue – Bendigo
Best On-Course Promotion – Warragul (Hamish Blake ambassador)
Curator of the Year (More than 20 meetings) - Jordan Robinson (Ballarat / Moonee Valley)
Curator of the Year (20 or less meetings) - Peter Bowen (Stawell)
AVCHRC Volunteer Recognition Award - John Byrne (Boort)
