Nostalgia/Historical Topics

I have been looking at some early 70's yearbooks and have been reminded of the fact that The Showgrounds never raced in August or September. I figure this would have been at least partly due to The Royal Melbourne Show but I cannot understand why a Saturday night meet wasn't held at all, say at Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong. I would have thought that even back in those days they would have seen a danger in not providing anything for the fans for 2 months. Harold Park raced every Friday night.
Does anybody have any ideas on why it was so?

The Showgrounds season until around 1970 finished at the end of May. It was then extended to the end of July, the popularity of the Penthouse Club on Channel 7 may have been a catalyst for that. The new season always opened on the second Saturday of October, which was two weeks after the Royal Melbourne Show closed. The RASV was the landlord and, in reality, the master of the Trotting Control Board. The RASV had two representatives as board members of the TCB to make sure it could dictate to a great degree how the sport was run. The TCB's offices were even rented from the RASV, located in the A.G. Hunter grandstand.

While the two weeks to prepare for the new season's racing always seemed fair enough, you could question the two and a half months required to prepare for the Show. TCB ran a pretty good dining experience (by early '70's standards) in conjunction with Dennis Catering and could cater for up to 2000 patrons. Wouldn't they love to get that many feeding their their faces at Melton? One of the buildings used for functions was the British Tobacco centre. Once the trots season was over it was converted to full-on fag production. No doubt this was solely to educate kiddies about the state's wonderful tobacco growing industry in the Ovens Valley.

Winter meetings at the Melbourne Showgrounds were pretty miserable affairs, both in the quality of horses and weather. The TCB, led by the super promoter Bill Burns, ran VFL football club nights. Participating clubs usually had a "cup" as the feature of the night, usually a 2:20 class front (M2).

They started to race some Saturday night meetings during the off season, I remember going to Shepparton on a few occasions. Midweek racing was pretty light on until Monday afternoon racing was promoted by radio stations 3DB and 3UZ. Kilmore and Cranbourne were clubs still in their infancy in the late 1960's and, along with Stawell, were the backbone of the winter Monday circuit. Hamilton and Ouyen were other daytime clubs that raced on Tuesdays.

The Royal Melbourne Show itself was the starting point for the new season with many events conducted over its nine days and 8 nights. The program included three $500 show penalty free for alls (2:19 or C9 country front). The first and last Saturday nights were mobile miles, the Thursday night (Show Day holiday) race was nine and a half furlongs. With no running rail, the times were never officially recognised but the spectacle of good class horses scampering around the three furlong saucer attracted many new fans.

The best performance over the week I ever saw was Greenwald at the 1974 Show. From memory, he ran 2:02 the first Saturday, then back home to the hamlet of Greenwald (between Heywood and Mount Gambier). He came back on Thursday, rated 2:03, and returned home again. Two days later, back at the Show and he ran 2:01. As a reward, he got to stay at Rockbank that night. It was supposed to be an easy run because he was in at Kilmore on the Monday!

My source of information for the 1971/72 season is the 1971 "The Purple Book of Victorian Trotting" published by the TCB. There just wasn't that much racing then. For the season, Stawell had 6 meetings, Terang 8, Wangaratta 8, Warragul (then a night club) 12, Shepparton 16, St Arnaud 5 (3 non-TAB), Ouyen 7 (4 non-TAB), Mildura 15 (5 non-TAB), Wedderburn 3 non-TAB, Nyah 8 (4 non-TAB), Hamilton 6, Gunbower 1 non-TAB, Geelong 12, Echuca 5, Maryborough 5, Cranbourne 8, Kilmore 7, Healesville 6 (3 non-TAB), Charlton 7 (3 non-TAB), Boort 2 non-TAB, Bendigo 12, Ballarat 12. Ararat did not rate a mention, publishing oversight.

Much simpler times.

Thanks so much Trevor - fantastic info
I am thinking it wasn't all about TAB & Turnover either
That became clear to me when I saw that QLD regularly had 10 meets on a Saturday

I am away from home this week and happen to have brought he 71/72 Yr Bk with me
Ararat got 8 meets
Kilmore really got 14 as they had 7 of their own and 7 TCB
Cranbourne also got an extra 5 TCB

My perusing the 70's Yr Bks is a nostalgia trip - looking for old favourite horses which I am listing for research - Greenwald is on my list

That's right, The TCB used to race some Monday meetings at Kilmore and Cranbourne. Pretty weak affairs from memory catering for lessercassessed horses.

An interesting fact about the Night at the Trots run by Dennis Catering. You got your admission and a Facebook, a three course dinner with the choice of poultry or steak main course, and all beer and wine. All for $4.60 a head!!! Take me back! Please!

Looking at Nicotine Prince's 3yo season (70-71) when he was leading money winner (27 starts, 13 wins, $24,447)
Early in the season, not the time of the rich classics, he had 5 runs in 11 days - nowadays you would never see a star juvenile asked to do that
NP sired a few and you can still find a little of his blood going around through the descendants of mare Bridge Player (NP was sire of her grandam) such as San Carlo

Following a trail from Roma's Son (purely because the name rang a strong bell), I arrived at Grand Monarch (as I was trying to determine why Roma was tried as a stallion)
GM was born in the 50's, like me - so I am well aware of inflation, but it surprised me that according to ClassicFamilies GM only won $3,730 despite the note that he won 10 races at the Showgrounds
To get an idea of prizemoney back then, I looked at some of the HRA Annual On-Line Race Chronicles but not many trace back to the 50's. I saw that the Italian Cup at the Showgrounds varied in prizemoney in the 50's between $1,500 and $4,000.
I can only figure that Grand Monarch must not have won any substantial races in his day

Roma's Son, what a coincidence! Only last Thursday while completing the last leg of my lap of Victoria holiday I took an old short cut from Bullengarook to the Calder Highway I pointed out Ron Gilligan's old property to my wife. His name meant nothing to her so I started talking about Roma's Son and what a brilliant sprint he had.

He was a grandson of Grand Monarch being by Royal Dollar. He was bred by Laurie Milner and, I think, leased by Ron. Ron Gilligan was always recognisable at the races because he always wore a big cowboy hat.

Grand Monarch (by Light Brigade) threw top class pacers and trotters just as his sire did. Does the name Maori Miss ring a bell? I seriously doubt the accuracy of the stake earnings record. Grand Monarch was tragically a victim of the Lara bushfires that claimed eleven lives in 1969. He was still at his peak as a side, one of his last foals being Gordon Rothaker's old mate Gallagher (37 wins).

I see Roma's Son had 74 foals between 1972 and 1991. Laurie Milner stood him himself, his biggest crops being 12 and 11 foals in 1978 and 79. I stand to be corrected but I recall he had a troublesome knee throughout his career. He left seven winners that didn't amount to much and looking back is symptomatic of many locally bred stallions of the era. They did not get the commercial opportunity and stood for lower fees attractive to the bottom end of the market. Battling breeders and owners, after breeding their foal, could struggle to afford breaking and training fees. Many offspring of these stallions were either not much good to start with or, if they showed promise, were afforded limited opportunity to prove themselves. That scenario never applies to the progeny of, say, Bettors Delight.

Back to Grand Monarch, he was owned by the Collinson family of Footscray and was a genuine topliner of th fifties. Only the very, very best would win ten at the Showgrounds (Roma's Son three, I think). Grand Monarch died around the time my interest in the trots was growing. Two mates from school, brothers, looked after their uncle's best broodmare (by Grand Monarch) on his vacant block in Footscray. Try doing that now!

Great info Trevor, thanks for sharing it with us

Quote:

Originally Posted by Messenger

Great info Trevor, thanks for sharing it with us

Great information Trevor.
I'm sure that Grand Monarch stood also at Jim Friswell's stud which was close to the East Loddon School, between Dingee and Serpentine. I think Atlantic City was there as well.