Williams presented with sixth Scobie Breasley Medal
Champion jockey Craig Williams has claimed his sixth Scobie Breasley Medal after a remarkable late-season surge saw him overhaul Jamie Mott to take Victorian racing’s most prestigious riding honour at the 2026 Victorian Racing Awards on Saturday night.
Williams, 49, trailed Mott by a single vote heading into the final month of the 2025-26 season before producing a stunning finish, polling 11 votes during July to secure the award with 52 votes, five clear of his rival.
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The victory comes 20 years after Williams won his first Scobie Breasley Medal in 2006, the start of four consecutive triumphs between 2006 and 2009, and follows his previous success in 2017.
The Scobie Breasley Medal is determined by Racing Victoria’s panel of stewards, who award votes on a 3-2-1 basis after every Victorian metropolitan meeting for the rides they judge to be the best of the day.
Williams’ late charge also mirrored his successful battle with Mott for the Victorian Metropolitan Jockeys’ Premiership, where he claimed a 10th Roy Higgins Medal to equal the premiership tally of Damien Oliver.
Damian Lane finished third in the Scobie Breasley Medal voting with 37 votes despite spending parts of the season riding overseas, while Daniel Stackhouse (31) and emerging apprentice Luke Cartwright (29) completed the top five.
Away from the jockey honours, Half Yours was crowned Victorian Racehorse of the Year after an outstanding campaign that included victories in both the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup. The achievement capped a memorable season for trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy, who also collected the Most Outstanding Training Performance award after preparing the horse to become just the 13th galloper to complete the famous Cups double.
Calvin McEvoy’s impressive season was recognised further when he received the Colin Alderson Rising Star Award, while Jamie Mott was voted the VJA Damien Oliver Most Valuable Jockey by his fellow riders. Logan Bates claimed the VJA Rising Star Award following his maiden Group 1 victory during the season.
Luke Cartwright continued his breakout campaign by winning both the Victorian and Metropolitan Apprentice Jockeys’ Premierships, while Dean Parker collected the Tommy Corrigan Medal as the state’s leading jumps rider.
Champion trainer Ciaron Maher maintained his dominance of Victorian racing, claiming both the Metropolitan Trainers’ Premiership for a sixth straight season and the overall Victorian Trainers’ Premiership after preparing 220 winners across the state.
2026 Victorian Racing Awards winners
The full list of award winners at the Victorian Racing Awards are:
- Scobie Breasley Medal – Craig Williams
- Victorian Racehorse of the Year – Half Yours
- Most Outstanding Training Performance – Tony & Calvin McEvoy
- Tommy Corrigan Medal – Dean Parker
- Colin Alderson Rising Star Award – Calvin McEvoy
- VJA Damien Oliver Most Valuable Jockey – Jamie Mott
- VJA Rising Star – Logan Bates
- RV Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year – Yona and Nina Lloyd
- RV Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year Runner-Up – Louise Abey
- Metropolitan Jockeys’ Premiership (Roy Higgins Medal) – Craig Williams (65 wins)
- Victorian Jockeys’ Premiership – Jamie Mott (128 wins)
- Metropolitan Apprentice Jockeys’ Premiership – Luke Cartwright (44 wins)
- Victorian Apprentice Jockeys’ Premiership – Luke Cartwright (70 wins)
- Metropolitan Trainers’ Premiership (Fred Hoysted Medal) – Ciaron Maher (104 wins)
- Victorian Trainers’ Premiership – Ciaron Maher (220 wins)
