Albion Park Harness Racing Club’s new boss James Waddell has a mission is to bring back the crowds

James Waddell has lofty goals as he prepares to step into the hot seat at Albion Park Harness Club.

James Waddell is the new boss of the Albion Park Harness Club.

Albion Park Harness Racing Club’s new boss James Waddell says he’s determined to restore the glory days to the racing code in Brisbane.

Scotland-born Waddell, 56, wants to see crowds flocking back to Albion Park to watch legends of harness racing such as Leap to Fame compete at the rich Inter Dominion series, which his club will host for the next three years.

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“We always seem to be chasing our tails in harness racing,” Waddell said.

“The days of 10,000 people turning up to Albion Park, how do we get that back?

“In the old days you’d have buses taking people from Eagle Farm and Doomben to Albion Park for a seafood buffet or whatever it was.

“I went back to the UK in August and went to York for the Ebor and there were 40,000 people there.

“You can see what Peter V’landys has done for racing in NSW. They’ve primed it for the next 10 years and given it a massive kickstart.

“There’s so much competition out there. It’s just exciting to be a part of this and letting people see something progress, that’s what I’m looking for.”

Superstar pacer Leap To Fame will chase more Inter Dominion glory at Albion Park later this year. Picture: Dan Costello

Waddell, who has lived in Queensland for the past 20 years, has sporting genes in his blood.

His cousin, former Scotland international footballer Robert Snodgrass, played more than 600 professional games, including for English Premier League clubs Norwich, Hull, West Ham and West Brom.

Waddell starts his new job as Albion Park’s chief operations officer/chief executive on Tuesday, replacing former Kiwi Test cricketer Ken Rutherford, who will move back to New Zealand this month to become boss of the Northern Districts Cricket Association in Hamilton.

Waddell takes on the role after stints at UBET, where he served as general manager for wagering (fixed odds) and more recently at online betting company PlayUp, where he was chief operations officer.

He also spent 10 years working with Carnival Cruise Lines, managing their on-board casino operations.

“We hope to redevelop Albion Park into a residential/sporting hub and included in that would be some gaming, which is right up his alley,” Albion Park chairman Greg Mitchell said about Waddell’s appointment, which was rubber-stamped on Friday.

The finals of the Inter Dominion Series will be staged in July at Albion Park, where Queensland pacer Leap To Fame can cement his place as the GOAT of the sport.

Originally published as Albion Park Harness Racing Club’s new boss James Waddell has a mission is to bring back the crowds