29/08/2025
Thinking of Les' family and of course our friends at Maryborough. A dedicated member of our harness fraternity, Les will be sadly missed.
VALE Les Chapman
With a broken heart MHRC confirms the sudden passing of our Club Trial Coordinator, past Manager and one of our most passionate supporters, Les Chapman.
Les has been the face of Harness Racing here at Maryborough for over 20 years, with everyone associating Les Chapman immediately with our Club.
Les served as Secretary Manager of the Maryborough Harness Racing Club for 22 years and in this time was integral to the success and growth of the Redwood Carnival, something that Les was incredibly passionate about and loved so much.
Often ahead of his time, Les was key in establishing Maryborough as the Harness Racing Stronghold that it is known as today.
One of his proudest achievements, Les was awarded the Gordon Rothacker Medal in 2009, Victorian Harness Racing’s highest individual honour.
In recent years, Les has served as the Clubs trial coordinator, and nothing brought him more joy than a Sunday morning spent at the trials. Les was in his happy place and in his element when he was at the track with Racedays here at Maryborough something he always looked forward to. As many would know, Les would always greet everyone here at Maryborough with enthusiasm as his trademark smile.
Les worked tirelessly behind the scenes often doing those small jobs that people didn’t realise to keep things running smoothly here at MHRC, no job was ever too big or too small and he was always ready on hand to help where he could.
He lived for the track and the sport, a long-time member of the Carisbrook Racecourse Trust and also the Victorian Square Trotters Association. Les dedicated his life to Harness Racing.
The Maryborough Harness Racing Club wishes to extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Fran and Les’s family and wishes to take this opportunity to thank a selfless man who all too often put the Club, Harness Racing and others before himself.
We are a close family here at Maryborough. We are all hurting today and will do for a long time to come. Our thoughts are with many in our industry who will feel this loss just as deeply.
To honour his lifetime of work and his commitment to our Club and our Sport, we will all continue to work hard to continue his love and passion of Harness Racing here at Maryborough.
In respect to Les and to those closest to him, our trials have been cancelled on Sunday.
Rest in Peace Les.
