Wednesday, January 30, 2018
Record-breaking Mount Gambier trainer Tracie Price will be presented with the inaugural Ian Badger Trainer of the Year award at Tara Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
Badger was the South East Greyhound Racing Club’s first leading trainer in 1979-80 – the trophy on display at Tara Raceway in the club’s memorabilia section – when racing was conducted at Glenburnie.
One of the driving forces behind the sport in the early days of mechanical hare racing, in 1996 he was awarded posthumous life membership of the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club after having died on March 31, 1995 at the age of 46.
During 2018, Price trained 137 winners , 124½ seconds and 102 thirds, a couple of the highlights being Rockoon’s 29.28 seconds 512 metres track record on July 1 and the home-grown Smart Knocka’s Peter Rocket Winter Classic win.
MGGRC president John Woodland said this week that the club was delighted that Ian Badger’s wife Judy Sellen was making the trip down from Adelaide for Sunday’s presentation.
The Greyhound of the Year award will also be presented on Sunday – to Paraphernalia who, in a stirring battle, defeated Oh No Beta by two points when registering 13 wins, four seconds and three thirds.
Owned by Chris Johnson and trained at Horsham by Jeff Guy, the son of Big Daddy Cool and Scrappy Coco won the Metal Worx Iron Dog series, was a finalist in the Mount Gambier Cup and Anniversary Cup as well as representing Mount Gambier in the SA Country Cup at Angle Park.
A rising five-year-old, Paraphernalia has enjoyed a wonderful career, so far racing on 142 occasions for 37 wins, 23 seconds and 13 thirds for stakemoney close to $83,000.
Now set to see out his career at Tara Raceway in the care of Cape Bridgewater trainer Scott Blacksell, Paraphernalia has raced four times this year at the local track for a win and two close seconds – all in top company.