Mark Walker

Director, Te Akau Trainer (New Zealand and Australia)

Mark Walker is a Director of Te Akau Racing and leads the training operation across New Zealand and Australia. He trains in partnership with Sam Bergerson in New Zealand and oversees Te Akau’s Cranbourne stable in Victoria, working closely with the senior teams at Matamata, Riccarton and Cranbourne.

Raised on a dairy farm at Rahotu in Taranaki, Mark began riding through the Opunake Pony Club and competed in showjumping and eventing from childhood. After leaving school, he approached Sir David Ellis for a job at Te Akau and progressed through the organisation to become one of the most successful trainers produced by New Zealand racing.

Mark won his first New Zealand Trainers’ Premiership at 31, then the youngest trainer to achieve the title. In 2009/10, he trained 108 winners to set a national record before moving to Singapore to establish Te Akau’s Kranji stable. During 10 seasons there he recorded 684 wins and was Champion Trainer in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021, including a then-record 87 wins in 2017.

He returned to New Zealand in 2022 and immediately re-established his record-breaking form. In 2022/23, he became the first trainer in New Zealand to reach 200 wins in a season, finishing with a national record of 203. In April 2026, he celebrated his 1,500th New Zealand winner and had already passed 2,000 career wins worldwide.

Known for his horsemanship, strategic placement of horses and ability to lead large teams across jurisdictions, Mark remains closely involved in every stage of Te Akau’s training and bloodstock programme. His long partnership with Sir David, together with his training partnership with Sam, continues to underpin Te Akau’s success on both sides of the Tasman.