Doug and Shirley Martin remembered with features in Launceston

The Launceston Pacing Club once again remembers the contribution to harness racing of the late Doug and Shirley Martin in Launceston on Sunday night.

Doug and Shirley resurrected the Danbury Park Cup back onto the feature race calendar in a big way several decades ago, even supplying trophies for the winning owners, trainers, drivers and strappers for every race on the program, with the LPC continuing that tradition again this year.

The L.P.C renamed the race the Doug Martin Danbury Park Cup after his passing in 2008 before the club moved its premier mares race to the same program, the Shirley Martin Mother Of Pearl.

Doug was the inaugural winner of Tasmanian racing’s highest honour, the Edgar Tatlow medal in 2001, and was an inaugural member of the Hall of Fame in 2014.

He was born in Western Australia where he developed his love of standardbreds and he became bewitched by the breed during the 1936 Inter Dominion series at Gloucester Park at which he was strapper to the great Tasmanian pacer Logan Derby that won the series final.

Logan Derby returned to WA to contest two more Inter Dominion series in 1938 and 1940 and it was at the conclusion of the 1940 series that Martin decided to accompany the horse back to Tasmania to see first hand the place that was able to produce such a champion pacer.

Martin’s two-week holiday never ended and he went on to become one of Tasmania’s most honored and revered harness participants.

He worked tirelessly in the late 1960s and early 70s to assist with the state securing the totalisator (TAB), just one of many achievements. He was a life member of the Launceston Pacing Club, Danbury Park Trotting Club, and Northern Tasmania Light Harness Association.

Many finalists from the recent Golden Apple Final, including winner Glenledi Elvis, who will start from the 10m line, will contest this years Doug Martin Danbury Park Cup (2698m).

Starting off the 40m bark mark is the Emma Stewart-trained Beyond Delight, who finished fifth in the Golden Apple Final before winning in 1:54.3s in Hobart last week under mobile start conditions.

“He felt super last start over the short trip and back to the mobile,” said driver Tiarna Ford.

“His standing start manners have been good to date but he has found traffic over the short standing start trip in the Golden Apple Final. He goes back another 10m here but over the long trip he will get more of a chance to tack on and work into the race. He’s a classy horse,” the driver added.

The Doug Martin Danbury Park Cup is race five on an eight-race card, with the opening race scheduled for 18:12.