Leading harness racing duo Shane and Lauren Tritton are to relocate to the United States, saying the sport in Australia is no longer viable for them.
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The couple dominated harness racing in the Hunter region when based at Keinbah. Shane won seven consecutive Newcastle premierships and went on to claim the metropolitan title, while Lauren is a top driver and now a co-trainer with her husband.
The combination moved to Menangle in February 2016 but now say they can no longer sustain their business and have called on authorities to get behind the participants in a statement on Tuesday announcing their departure.
"We hope that those in control of harness racing can see they need to do more to make this great sport of harness racing bigger and better, as what it has become in the past decade has lost its viability to support the participants who rely on it," they said.
"We would love to be staying in Australia for the rest of our careers but the reality is the viability of a trainer and driver in harness racing in Australia is too volatile.
"We have tried to stress this to those in charge without any reaction or concern for the issues that every trainer or driver in the country face every week.
"Please take notice those in charge need to do better for everyone in this industry who rely on it to survive.
"This is a sport and should be fun - surviving isn't fun."
Shane Tritton's father Peter, a leading trainer, moved to the US about 2003 and has settled in Delaware. The Trittons plan to make the move in May.
