Harness racing trainer Ben Yole has emerged as favourite to win this season's Halwes Medal.
As at the end of June when voting moved into silent mode Yole was leading with 69 votes to be 14 clear of his younger brother Mark Yole who leads in the race for the driver's premiership.
Trainer-driver Rohan Hillier was perched in third spot with 48 votes and only three clear of driver Ricky Duggan who was only three votes astern.
However Duggan has dominated a few meetings since the voting was made silent and in particular last Sunday night in Hobart where he drove five winners and two minor placegetters from nine drives.
Ben Yole has trained 107 winners to be 60 wins clear of his nearest rival Tod Rattray, so he will win the trainer's premiership while Mark Yole has driven 84 winners to lead Ricky Duggan by 10 with only one meeting of the season remaining.
The Halwes Medal is determined on a point-score basis with a panel of judges asked to vote at a specific number of meetings throughout the season with six votes in each category (driver/trainer) up for grabs at each meeting.
An interesting tussle exits in the Young Achiever Award as Dylan Ford and Matthew Howlett were tied on eight votes each when the voting switched to silent mode after the June 26 meeting.
The winners will be announced at the annual Tasmanian Harness Racing Awards and Hall of Fame induction night in Launceston on September 24.
Peter Staples