Drivers profile by Kimberly Rinker, Maywood Park/Chicago

Bob Mellsop, 51, hails from the Western Australian hamlet of Waroona—some 75 miles south of Perth--where he breeds and races his stable with the help of his wife Val and son Adam. Bob currently is the leading driver of his region with a 13-10-6 record from 52 starts, for a .411 UDR. His standout mount in 2007 was the trotter Sun Of Zola.

Bob—who carries the Australian colors embossed with a green kangaroo over yellow--was born in Pukekohe, New Zealand and worked as a jockey, farm hand, truck driver and lawn mowing contractor before becoming a harness driver-trainer. He’s migrated back and forth between Australia and New Zealand a number of times, working for some of the best Standardbred and thoroughbred trainers found “Down Under.”