Harness Racing Australia has unveiled its 2025 Joseph Coulter Media Award winners after another exceptional year of national coverage.
The Joseph Coulter Media Award winners recognise the incredible contribution the national media make to the promotion of the Australian harness racing industry across all platforms.
HRA CEO Richard Goodbody said this year’s nominees and finalsists should be extremely proud of their accomplishments.
“The Australian harness racing industry has an incredible story to tell and we’re thankful for those media representatives who continue to support our sport,” he said.
“Whilst we have been fortunate enough to see some incredible action on the track, we collectively want to see harness racing in front of as many people as possible, and we can’t do that without the support of the national media.
“The 2025 winners show a great mix of traditional and innovative coverage and we congratulate them all on their success.”
The 2025 Joseph Coulter Media Award winners are:
Joseph Coulter - Best News Story of the Year
All I can ask for is hope
Written by Adam Hamilton and published on Racenet on 7 July 2025. The story covers the plight of renowned Queensland photographer Dan Costello and the generosity of Kevin Seymour as he undertook the fight of his life.
Graham Goffin Memorial Award - Best Feature Article
The inside story of Gary Hall Sr’s extraordinary rise to harness racing greatness
Written by Steve Butler for Racing WA and published on 11 April 2025.
Steve features the incredible journey of Gary Hall Snr from a young fan to harness racing greatness.
Graham Goffin Memorial Award - Best Regional Story
A life steeped in horses, harness racing and community: farewell to Joey Thompson
Written by Terry Gange and published on Harnesslink on 3 December 2025.
Terry details the life story of the late Charlton Harness Racing legend Joey Thompson.
Graham Goffin Memorial Award - Best Historical Feature
Champion bloodline runs deep in the Cooley clan
Written by James Bresnehan for The Mercury Newspaper on 6 July 2025.
The article details Peter Cooley’s lifelong legacy in harness racing.
Best Published Action or Still Photograph
Gatesys Gem (Pictured)
Taken by Jessica Watkins on 17 May 2025.
The picture captures Gatesys Gem with trainer Glenn Hunter after her NSW Trotting Derby victory.
Best Radio/Podcast Feature to Air
Deni Roberts
Steve Butler live-to-air interview on 14 December 2025.
Deni joined Bruce Welsh and Steve Butler on 6PR Weekends to reflect on her back-to-back 2024 and 2025 Pacing Cup wins with Minstrel.
Best Feature Television/Video Film to Air
The rise of harness star Arcee Phoenix
Ahead of the 2025 Inter Dominion Trotting Final at Albion Park, Ladbrokes and Daryll Maguire took viewers behind-the-scenes with a feature on Arcee Phoenix.
Published on their YouTube Page on 30 June 2025 – along with their other digital channels – the feature provided an incredible look at the rise of Chris Svanosio’s stable star.
The rest is history!
Award of Merit for Demonstrated Excellence in Promotion
Ultimate Driver Championship
The Ultimate Driver was a first of its kind event held in February 2025. The format saw 10 drivers representing Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Canada and the USA competing as slotholder selected drivers over two massive nights and 20 races in total.
The Ultimate Driver Championship was a collaboration between Racing Queensland and Albion Park Harness Racing Club.
Award of Merit For Demonstrated Excellence in Social Media Usage & Innovation
Aiden De Campo Micd Up
The Hamilton Content Creators – Gloucester Park Racing Reels Series were a standout winner in 2025.
Across the 2025 season, the Racing Reels series generated more than 18 million views on Facebook, attracted nearly 21,000 new followers, and recorded almost 900,000 engagements, representing unprecedented digital reach and interaction for Gloucester Park and the Australian harness racing industry.
This was best demonstrated through Aiden De Campo live-narrating a race while competing. Using three GoPros and a microphone, the video captured every moment, decision, and emotion in real time, providing a rare and compelling insight into the intensity of race driving.
