Ballarat district’s Darby McGuigan and James Herbertson have reinforced their standing as two of Victoria’s rising stars in harness racing driving ranks.
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They will finish in the top four in the state concession drivers’ premiership.
McGuigan goes into the last two days of the season in third on 72 wins, with Herbertson fourth on 61.
Terang’s Jason Lee will win the title for the fifth year in a row with more than 100 wins.
Herbertson was fifth last season on 47 and McGuigan sixth on 46.
They have been in much higher demand with McGuigan getting more than 750 drives compared with 343 in 2016-17. Herbertson will reach 650, up from 383.
Each is from harness racing families, with McGuigan’s father Tim training a team at Gordon and Herbertson working with his father Ashleigh at their new Lexton base.
Ryan Duffy is another Ballarat-based young driver to have risen up the ranks to finish well inside the top 10 with more than 50 wins.
Duffy works for Burrumbeet trainer Michael Stanley after relocating from the Shepparton region.
Cardigan’s Emma Stewart will be formally crowned as the premier national and state trainer when the season ends on Friday.
She broke new ground when she reached an all-time national record of 300 wins at Warragul on Sunday.
Stewart then backed up with six wins from six starters at Horsham on Monday in what has been a record-breaking season for her stable.
She had 60 wins to secure the metropolitan premiership.
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