It might have been 100 years since its first meeting, but Gunbower Harness Racing Club is still hot to trot, celebrating its centenary milestone in 2024.
Celebrations include the centenary meeting on February 18, featuring the $14,000 saveourbacon.com.au Centenary Trotters Cup and the $14,000 Brereton Family Centenary Pacers Cup among the 10-race card.
The race day will include a luncheon for invited guests, including Harness Racing Victoria chairman Dale Monteath and Harness Racing Australia chief executive Andrew Kelly.
RSN racing pundit Mick McGuane will be on course, while Cohuna local Paddy Doyle will be calling the racing on the day.
The club will also debut its recently published book, The Gunbower Harness Racing Club 1924-2024; copies will be on sale for $20, along with caps and stubby holders.
There will also be activities for the kids, a marquee, a fishing club barbecue and a coffee van.
Club president Roger Brereton said Gunbower now joined Boort in being one of the few country race clubs to reach the centenary milestone.
“It has very much been a community effort for the club to make it this far, and who would have thought we would be here celebrating a hundred years. To the people who had the foresight to establish the club, I thank you,” Roger said.
The first race meet in Gunbower was actually held on December 15, 1875, a little over a year after the town was proclaimed (there are no race results recorded to celebrate this historic occasion).
Initially conducted on private land, the annual race meetings were moved to the current site after the governor approved a land grant comprising 127 acres on January 30, 1894.
In 1924, the harness racing club was established in its own right, with Matt Pollock becoming its first president. Matt would go on to hold the position until 1951.
Over the intervening years, there have only been five presidents in total: D. Wharton 1952 to 1956, J. Norman 1957 to 1967, W. Poxon 1968 to 2003 and Roger Brereton from 2003 to the present day.
The success of the club can be directly attributed to the beautiful partnership the harness club has shared with the Gunbower Race Club, with both organisations working side by side to keep the tracks and facilities in top condition.
There have been many significant milestones in the history of the club over the past 100 years, perhaps none more so than the building of a new track, which was completed in 1980. Initially, all race meets were conducted on the gallops track, making Gunbower the last harness racing club to race on grass.
In 1975, president Bill Poxon and Roger (secretary at the time) attended a meeting at which Roger fortuitously sat next to the Trotting Control Board secretary. After explaining the need for a new track, Roger was given the advice, “If you ask for a new track, they will close you down. Build a training track and eventually make it a race track.”
In 1976, the club passed a motion to begin using the existing running rail of the gallops track, and 510 pine posts, 260 16.5 inch x 16 feet rails, 1020 12 inch bolts, gallons and gallons of white paint, and uncountable donated hours later, the largest trotting track at the time of 1239 metres by 18 metres wide was created (now second only to Menangle).
“It was a huge community effort and, without a doubt, has contributed to the longevity of the club,” Roger said.
There wouldn’t be racing without horses, and there have been many outstanding local horses over the decades, including Jack McKinney, owned by Denis Moriarty, who began racing in 1915. Jack amassed an impressive list of wins and sired many other great horses, including Glimmer, who was bought by Matt Pollock and won 25 races, including six in Melbourne, and earned over 1500 pounds in prize money.
And then there was a grey mare named Edna Direct, owned by the Gath family, who assisted in putting George Gath in the spotlight as a trainer and driver, with George winning multiple races over his 52 years as a licensed trainer and driver before his retirement in 1979.
In more recent years, Lightning Joy was another Gunbower favourite, registering 14 victories and 22 placings and amassing $147,000.
In 2005, Harness Racing Australia chief executive Andrew Kelly dropped a bombshell under the Labor government of the time, basically closing down not only Gunbower but six other country clubs, forcing them to either race at other bigger venues or close completely.
Closing was never an option for Gunbower.
“We had no choice to move our races, and despite there being a one per cent chance of ever returning, we never gave up,” Roger said.
In 2011, under a Liberal/Nationals coalition government, the committee’s dream came true, and the six tracks, including Gunbower, were re-opened, enabling the club to continue on its merry way.
Secretary Peter O’Shea has been on the job since 2008.
“The Gunbower Harness Racing Club has a long history of family involvement over the many decades, and a lot of good horses have come from here and won all over the country and in New Zealand,” he said.
“For a small community, we have done exceptionally well, and without the community spirit and support, we would have never made 100 years; this really is a proud year for our club.”