By Jordyn Bublitz
It was a milestone night at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday, as one of harness racing’s most respected participants Luk Chin notched up his 200th training victory, and in true Luk Chin fashion, he did it with a horse he bred, trains, and drove himself.
The memorable win came in the Garrards Horse And Hound Handicap Trot with Voronov, who exploded off the front line like a bullet and quickly took control of the race. From there, Chin dictated the tempo perfectly, fending off the late challengers to score by three-quarters of a length.
A stalwart and iconic figure in the northern racing ranks, Dr Chin has been a familiar and admired presence on the track for more than four decades.
Following the race, Jo Ferguson from Track Chat NZ caught up with him to reflect on his long and successful career.
“I never thought I’d get there at my age,” he laughed. “It had to be at Cambridge because I drove my first winner here in 1984.”
Dr Chin began training in 1980, balancing his passion for harness racing with his professional career in medicine. Over the years, his dedication to both fields has become well-known within the harness racing community.
When asked about the highlight of his career, Dr. Chin’s response was as humble as ever.
“Meeting the people in harness racing and just being involved,” he said, “working in medicine is quite a different world, and racing is quite the change. Medicine is more mental, being inside all the time, and getting outside with the horses is what balances my life. It’s been great.”
One of the most remarkable aspects of Dr Chin’s career is that he has never bought a horse, every winner he has ever trained was bred by him.
“I’ve never bought a horse in my life, I’ve bred every winner.”
As for his best horse? He doesn’t like to pick favourites, but one moment clearly stands out.
“They all had their days,” he smiled. “My highlight was probably taking a maiden trotter down to Addington who won the New Zealand Three-Year-Old Trotting Stakes. She was a maiden and rank outsider, not only did she win, but she ran a New Zealand record too.”
That was Lady Caballo who ran 3:22.6 in April 1992.
Now at 82 years old, Dr Chin shows no signs of slowing down.
“My body’s complaining all the time, but it keeps me going,” he joked. “I just work through the pain.”
His love for the horse remains as strong as ever, and his enthusiasm for the sport is infectious.
“I’m still breeding, so I’ll still be racing when I’m 90,” he laughed. “I’ve bred, trained, and driven a Group 2 and 3 winner, when I get the Group 1 I’ll hang up my reins, I promise.”
For now, though, harness racing fans can count on seeing Dr Luk Chin and the horses he’s bred from scratch continuing to make their mark on the track for years to come.