What got you hooked??

[nowuseeme]

lucky enough to have watched a horse by the name of mount eden watched all his races at gloucester park and richmond raceway he got me hook,line and sinker

[eliteblood]

Amazing - they make those carts in size VVV

[Messenger]

It would have been around 1970 as a teenager. Tagging along with my best mate's family on their regular Saturday night trips to The Showgrounds. I loved it all - the colour, the horses within reach, the gambling ...

I remember Don Dove's leaders like Amlin (Nilma spelt backwards? jogs the memory) but cannot remember the better one he had at the same time. Favourites like Murray Mac - tough enough to win from the death (a few years later freakishly got to know the owners as I became friends with their daughter at Teachers College). Another favourite was the tough old plodder Ercildale who could only win when the distance got out to at least 2800.

I was also known to tag along with the same family to the Easter Gift at Stawell - little wonder I married my best mate's sister about 10 years later (something my son ridicules me for - cheeky bugger)

I was a bad influence on mates at Teachers College (this was a couple of years later) Instead of going to college on Mondays, we would meet at the Lyndhurst pub then head off to the Vic country trots, pretty much wherever they were

[eliteblood]

I remember Don Dove's leaders like Amlin (Nilma spelt backwards? jogs the memory) but cannot remember the better one he had at the same time.

Probably Monara

[Messenger]

Probably Monara

Thanks Trev

[The Escape Club]

I used to spend just about all of my school holidays in Boort My uncle had his stables 2 or 3 doors down from the trotting track. A couple of doors down from his place on the other side of the street was Mr. Robb or Charlie Robertson. He had stables out the back and a huge Norfolk pine in his front yard, he trained and drove the very first Inter Dominion pacers favourite in 1936. I used to sit in the gig with them when they were going to the track to work or returning from the track.

As a kid on Saturday nights, if we weren't at the Melbourne Showgrounds watching then we were at home watching The Penthouse Club with Mary Hardy and Mike 'I tipped this' Williamson.

My brother still has the last ever Showgrounds program and the first Moonee Valley one.

[Richard prior]

Hey Dan, Is that a young Dean McDowell in that photo??? (lol)

[Danno]

Fancy this old thread getting dug up again!! good on you Rob, you must have a bit of time on your hands today

Rich,
Got that pic off the internet, not from hanging around stables!!

[The Escape Club]

Fancy this old thread getting dug up again!! good on you Rob, you must have a bit of time on your hands today

Rich,
Got that pic off the internet, not from hanging around stables!!

I work 8 days on and 6 days off and am on my second day off. Since I'm only new to the forums I've started at the end and am going through all the oldies.

I'm burning off some nervous energy waiting for my horses to run. One down and one to go. Fingers crossed for the second one.

[Richard prior]

Sorry Dan, Probably shouldn't have said that about Dean, Yours was certainly a great story. I remember my Grandmother taking us to a place called Alectown, not far from Parkes to one of our relatives place as a young fella, Horses running around everywhere, my younger sister was really in her element but not a lot has changed with me, I still have NFI when handling horses. Mount Eden was certainly the first horse who caught my attention and his exploits are still firmly implanted in my brain. A Few years later I used to sneak into the TAB in Liverpool in the days of the different coloured tickets and would spend my pocket money on the trots. I got away with it for a while until the lady behind the counter looked up at me and asked me my age(15) LOL. Firmly bitten by the bug and still love the Trots now after nearly 40 years of watching them.