Media release
TAFE NSW Moss Vale | 4 February 2025
TAFE NSW helps give passionate racing fan a career 'leg up'
“The industry connections it exposed me too were invaluable in helping me progress to my current role. If I wanted to connect with someone, the opportunity was there”
Harrison Edwards
TAFE NSW has helped a Stanmore man with a rich pedigree in thoroughbred racing get a “leg up” to his dream career. Harrison Edwards’ connection with the “sport of kings” goes back generations, with his great-grandfather a well-known bookmaker and his father a prominent figure in the former Sydney Turf Club. But on the cusp of starting a Bachelor of Business at university and unsure about which part of the racing industry he wanted to explore, Mr Edwards, 21, earned a place in the Silverdale Academy, a collaboration between TAFE NSW and leading Southern Highlands broodmare operation Silverdale Farm.
The immersive program provides students with a unique, hands-on experience across many facets of the industry, including an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of racing’s biggest names.
TAFE NSW has recently announced the next stage of the program, the Silverdale Academy Australian Turf Club Internship Program – giving students an insider’s view of the thoroughbred breeding industry.
Thoroughbred racing is Australia’s third largest industry, employing over 75,000 people and generating about $5 billion annually for the national economy.
“While I’ve always loved racing, I’d never had hands-on experience and the Silverdale Academy was the perfect way to learn,” Mr Edwards said. “The industry connections it exposed me too were invaluable in helping me progress to my current role. If I wanted to connect with someone, the opportunity was there.”
Mr Edwards now works as a part-time bid spotter for leading bloodstock auctioneers Inglis, which he secured through the Silverdale Academy, and as a racing and wagering assistance for the Australian Turf Club.
He said the course also gave him the practical skills and experience to better understand horse behaviour and physiology.
Following a successful launch in late 2021, the Silverdale Academy has given dozens of graduates like Mr Edwards the practical skills, experience and contacts to gain employment across all aspects of the racing industry.
TAFE NSW equine teacher Linda Molloy said the upcoming program would blend online learning with a visit to the Inglis Classic Yearling Sales next February, and the chance to meet some of the sport’s biggest names. Previous interns have been given personal masterclasses by racing icons, including Gai Waterhouse, Chris Waller and Ciaron Maher.
“This is an amazing opportunity for students not just to learn valuable employability skills, but network with some of the industry biggest names,” Ms Molloy said. “The job prospects for our interns are exceptional and everyone of them who has wanted to find a job after the course has successfully done it.”
Caption: GIDDY UP: TAFE NSW graduate Harrison Edwards says the Silverdale Academy helped him launch an in-demand career in the thoroughbred racing industry.
Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, (02) 7920 5000.
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