Nova ScotiaZach Mullins, 25, is believed to have made history at Inverness Raceway after taking home the track’s top driver and top trainer awards in the same season.’It’s nice to finish first,’ says Zach MullinsErin Pottie · CBC News · Posted: Nov 13, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Zach Mullins, 25, of Inverness, N.S., recently took home the top awards at the Inverness Raceway. (Erin Pottie/CBC)Zach Mullins started helping his father with horses when he was just a child.Now, the 25-year-old is believed to have made history at Inverness Raceway by earning awards this season as both the track’s top driver and its top trainer. He tied for the top driver honours with another harness racer.”It’s a good accomplishment,” said Mullins, who grew up in Inverness, N.S. “There’s other great horsemen around here that know their stuff and have been training since years, so it’s nice to finish first.”Mullins was a teenager when he began training horses and got his start as a driver about five years ago. He said the weather in Cape Breton can pose a challenge in getting the horses in shape, but he’s used to training in all kinds of weather.“A lot of cold days and jogging and just every day you’ve got to have them on a schedule, get them out, get their fitness levels for where they can race,” he said.“In Cape Breton, we definitely get a lot of snow and bad weather in the winter. It’s hard to get out some days. There’s days off here and there for the horses, but that benefits them. Sometimes they get a day off, they get to rest or regroup and start over the next day.”Alex (Trapper) MacQuarrie has been helping Mullins move ahead in the racing world. A local legend of the harness racing scene, the 77-year-old has spent roughly five decades in the sport on the island.’He’s starting to learn’MacQuarrie said he’s never heard of anyone taking home both top awards in a season, adding that Mullins deserves the recognition. “You start hanging around the barn when you’re five and six years old, you’re picking up things along the line from all the other horsemen around. And yeah, he had a good season. He’s starting to learn.”Mullins finished the season with 25 wins as a driver and 20 wins as a trainer, earning over $50,000 for his team that includes other horse owners. “Yeah, it’s definitely a thrill,” he said. “When you’re behind the starting gate each time, you always get the same adrenalin rush when the gate pulls away, just your blood starts getting hot and warm. And it’s just, it’s hard to describe, but it’s really something else.”Mullins said he hopes to continue his winning ways in the year ahead as the Inverness Raceway celebrates its 100th year in 2026.MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORErin Pottie is a CBC reporter based in Sydney. She has been covering local news in Cape Breton for more than 20 years. Story ideas welcome at erin.pottie@cbc.ca.
Inverness man sets pace in harness racing season
