By Kyle Galley
Warragul-born trotting driver Gavin Lang, the winner of more than 6000 races, passed away last Friday after a battle with Lymphoma. He was 61.
Lang’s career in the sulky saw him compete against some of the greatest horsemen and women in Australasia from the late 1970s up until his illness was discovered last September.
Yet he never forgot his connection to Gippsland.
He was born at the West Gippsland hospital in 1958.
His parents Graeme and Dot were farmers at Tynong, while also dabbling in the training of trotters.
Gavin and his brother, Chris, followed in the footsteps of their father and became accomplished horsemen in their own right.
A family tragedy, when one of the other Lang children was killed in an accident on their property, saw the family relocate to Romsey in the mid-1960s.
However the Langs have been regular competitors at Warragul trots meetings ever since.
Gavin managed to record the 5000th winning drive of his career at Warragul in August 2012, and fondly recalled his upbringing in Gippsland and his pride at achieving such a feat on his “home track”.
He was a three-time winning driver in the prestigious Warragul Pacing Cup – in 1982 with Copper Leopard, 1989 with Our Navy Lady (which he also trained), and in 2016 with Nike Franco.
He drove five winners at a Warragul meeting at one of his last appearances at the track in December, 2018.
Lang is survived by his wife Meagan and daughters Danielle and Courtney.
