Liam Martin appointed Southern District Racing Association (SDRA) chief steward at just 22

The 22-year-old has taken over the role from Jason Shultz, who has moved to Ballarat to join Racing Victoria's stewards team.

Martin spent the past 12 months as Shultz's deputy and was given the nod for the chief steward's role by Marc Van Gestel earlier this month.

"I haven't mucked around," Martin said with a laugh about his appointment at a young age.

"I enjoy my racing so it's good. Marc (Van Gestel) must have a bit of faith in me. I put in for it but didn't really expect to get it with my age.

"I don't think there's ever been a chief steward at my age before, not that I know of anyway.

"I'm enjoying it, taking on the big challenges as they come."

Martin hails from Tamworth and comes from a well-known racing family.

His father, Craig, is a leading trainer in Tamworth, while his uncle, Tim, is a nine-time group one winner and trained star sprinter Exceed And Excel.

Martin believes moving away from home to try and rise through the stewards ranks has proven a good idea.

"I feel like I'm pretty well respected in the industry. Not only from my background but down here, it's a good area to come to," he said.

"No one knew my background or who I was, so I could start fresh and build a few connections and earn a bit of respect around here."

MORE SPORT NEWS

Martin did his steward's traineeship in the Hunter and North West before taking a year off to travel, where he was able to experience overseas racing at Newmarket.

He returned and worked for his father and Scone trainer Brett Cavanough for periods, before working in Sydney as a cadet steward before his deployment to the SDRA.

Martin is a big fan of country racing and hopes to continue the good work of those before him.

"I like the area, really like it. I really like my country racing. I'm not so big on Sydney racing, as such," he said.

"I like getting out to Pooncarie, I've been to Broken Hill for their Cup. I like getting way out wide.

"The job has its challenges, it's a pretty high stress job but I'm enjoying it. I had a good teacher in Jason (Shultz). Jason was a really good mentor and boss down here. I'd like to keep it as smooth running as he and John Davidson had it."

Martin is looking to settle down in Wagga for the short term. He aspires to one day steward on an international level.

"Ideally the end result would be going to Hong Kong and being a steward over there," he said.

"The international stage is always one to strive for but I'm happy doing what I'm doing at the moment. The role's pretty good."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: