Chris Alford’s destiny was seemingly laid out for him. As the son of prominent trainer/driver Barry Alford, the odds always pointed towards Alford Jnr playing some part in the harness racing industry.
What might not have been expected, however, was Chris becoming one of the biggest names in the history of the sport in Australasia.
Not only does the man who resides at Bolinda, 50km north of Melbourne, sit alongside Gavin Lang as the only men to have driven more than 6000 winners in the southern hemisphere, he is also a Group 1-winning trainer.
Born on May 18, 1968, Chris has been one of the stars of the sport from almost the time he drove his first winner Spring Vance – who was the first leg of a winning double – at Wangaratta on October 2, 1984.
He had achieved his first century of winners within three years and while he had a four-year wait for his next century, he has driven at least 100 winners every season since 1992/93.
Chris’s first double century came in 1993/94, when he celebrated victory on 204 occasions, to win his maiden Australian Drivers’ Premiership.
He drove at least 200 winners for the next seven seasons as well, winning further national driving titles every season from 1995/96 to 1999/2000.
He won the Victorian Drivers’ Premiership every season from 1993/94 until 1999/2000. In 2011/12, Chris drove a staggering 336 winners to again take top honors in the Victorian and Australian Drivers’ Premiership, a feat he accomplished the following season.
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