THE new Bathurst Paceway hosted its first major function on Friday night with the Bathurst Harness Racing Club’s awards night bringing together last season’s best performers.

Leading the way were two regular winners in Steve and Amanda Turnbull. The father-daughter duo comfortably claimed the club’s trainer and driver premierships respectively after already doing so on a state level.

Steve Turnbull managed to notch up over 200 winners across the state last season, just falling short of cracking a century on his home track with 94 winners.

Amanda Turnbull beat her father to the double century in the driver’s stakes on a state level. She was also strong on her home track, notching up 86 winning drives.

Bathurst Harness Racing Club chief executive officer Danny Dwyer was pleased with the way the facility was put through its paces.

“It gave us an opportunity to showcase new the facilities for the first time for a special occasion,” he said.

“We had about 80 to 90 people there, which was a really good crowd for the night. Harness Racing NSW chairman Rex Horne was there along with Paul Toole and Gary Rush.

“For the Turnbulls to get over 200 winners state wide is a big effort. They’re always going to be tough to beat here ... and they’ve been the standouts now for many seasons.”

Nathan Hurst was the runner-up for the trainers’ award with 41 wins, while in his capacity as a driver John O’Shea capped off a solid season with 46 victories to place second in that premiership.

Amy Day took out the Junior Driver of the Year award with 14 winners, Sam Hewitt and Mitch Turnbull joint runners-up with eight apiece.

The night wasn’t all about the people, with the top horses also earning their share of praise.

Smack Dab Shannon achieved a double by taking out both the Overall and Juvenile Horse of the Year awards ahead of Saloon Passage.

Each horse finished the season with six wins, but it was eight additional minor placings that got Smack Dab Shannon home.

“It’s a great effort for him to win both those awards. I think only two of those races came against other three-year-olds, so he’s won a lot of those races against open company and finished the year around a C2 or C3,” Dwyer said.

Standout Australian sire Art Major was unsurprisingly the winning Sire of the Year with 26 wins at Bathurst, eight clear of nearest rival Modern Art.