
Aaron Bain Racing is excited heading into 2026 looking to build the business and give more wins to our loyal, and growing band of owners.
2025 has proved to be another growing year for ABR with good successes with both the thoroughbred and standardbred parts of the business but it was also a transition year.
The performed thoroughbreds which gave ABR such a wonderful start are reaching the end of their racing lives and being rehomed allowing the younger stars such as SHADY THINKER and ONE MORE SONG to come through.
Going into 2026, ABR has 50 unraced two and three-year-olds to bring to the races along with six horses we have purchased from New Zealand.
Those numbers are enough to see trainers Aaron Bain & Ned Taylor and the staff jump out of bed each morning to see their development, so we are looking forward to many new ABR runners in 2026.
No more starters for ABR in 2025 nor at Thomas Farms Murray Bridge on New Year’s Day but ABR will have good representation at our home Sportsbet Gawler track on Saturday.
See the weekend preview for what is ahead as we build into 2026.
ABR wishes everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year and be ready for a great ride on the ‘Bain Train’ in 2026.
Another fantastic year for ABR with our standardbreds landing feature race victories throughout the year.
We capped 2025 with Breeders Crown wins with three-year-olds BEACH DIAMOND and CAPTAIN PERFECT while two-year-old LOUCASSO stamped himself as perhaps the most exciting of his age group.
That trio should all have outstanding campaigns in 2026.
The mainstream media haven’t picked it up, but ABR cannot give enough praise to our SA trainer Peter Bain who finished 2025 with an incredible strike rate of 50% winners to runners.
Bain had 28 winners from 56 starters, truly an amazing performance.
And we also have to give praise to our Victorian trainer Emma Stewart who places her horses so well in SA. She had an incredible 25 winners from 34 starters. Mind blowing.
So with Emma and Peter in charge of our standardbreds, ABR is looking forward to another fantastic year in 2026.
On Tuesday, Bain made the trip to Mildura and returned with a winner, ABR’s POPPY LANE, driven by Wayne Hill.
Two-year-old filly POPPY LANE was ABR’s Weekend Star with a powerful win at Mildura on Tuesday.
Taking on the older horses, POPPY LANE, trained by Peter Bain and driven by Wayne Hill, scored a seven-metre win in the Park Douglas Printing Maiden (1790m).
Coming from gate two, the daughter of stallion Vincent, settled outside the lead for the first 100 metres before assuming control and never being seriously challenged.
She rated an excellent 1:58.2 with the most impressive part being her third quarter of the last 1600 metres in 28.3 seconds. It was that quarter which separated POPPY LANE from her rivals.
The filly showed early promise in SA but was sent to Emma Stewart in Victoria for her early racing and had three runs in the Vicbred Super Series before coming back to Peter Bain’s Gawler stables.
She trialled nicely before heading up to Mildura and winning impressively.