THE AUSTRALIAN JOCKEY CLUBANDRANDWICK

By KEN AUSTIN

There is a faded document hanging in the Secretary’s room at the Australian Jockey Club offices. It may be regarded as the coping-stone of what is now the most important Racing Club in Australia. This document reads as follows:—

“S. C. Burt, Esquire,—

“In consideration of your commencing the foundation of a Racecourse at Randwick, I hereby undertake to become liable to the extent of £50 for the purpose of paying the expense thereof.

“The revenues to be derived from the annual subscriptions and the sale of gates, booths, stands, etc., when completed, to be a security to me for whatever I may be called upon to pay under this guarantee.

“Sydney, Thirtieth June, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.

“(Sgd.) GEO. ROWLEY.”

“Pay to the order of W. McQuade, Esq., Treasurer, A.J.C.

“(Sgd.) S. C. BURT.”R. JONES,S. C. BROWN,CHAS. MARTYN,ROWLAND HASSALL,W. G. HENFREY,JNO. ROBERTSON,DAVID BELL,HENRY PRINCE,J. H. ATKINSON,W. M. ARNOLD,J. F. PERRY,A. LODER,GEO. ROWLEY,ALEX. MACKELLAR,ALFRED CHEEKE.

“(Sgd.) S. C. BURT.”

R. JONES,S. C. BROWN,CHAS. MARTYN,ROWLAND HASSALL,W. G. HENFREY,JNO. ROBERTSON,DAVID BELL,HENRY PRINCE,J. H. ATKINSON,W. M. ARNOLD,J. F. PERRY,A. LODER,GEO. ROWLEY,ALEX. MACKELLAR,ALFRED CHEEKE.

R. JONES,

S. C. BROWN,

CHAS. MARTYN,

ROWLAND HASSALL,

W. G. HENFREY,

JNO. ROBERTSON,

DAVID BELL,

HENRY PRINCE,

J. H. ATKINSON,

W. M. ARNOLD,

J. F. PERRY,

A. LODER,

GEO. ROWLEY,

ALEX. MACKELLAR,

ALFRED CHEEKE.

There is not much data concerning the early days of Randwick, but the wonderful strides the Club has made since 1880 may be gauged by comparing the Club’s racing expenditure, which was £734/10/- for that year and £152,559 for the year ending August, 1922.

The late T. S. Clibbon, who took over the duties of Secretary in 1873, made the most of his then somewhat slender opportunities. He was succeeded by the present Secretary, Mr. C. W. Cropper, in 1910, who made his name in Western Australia. Under his regime Randwick has never looked back, but has flourished like the proverbial bay tree of old. C. W. Cropper is the ideal Racing Secretary, a man who is held in the highest esteem by all who come in contact with him, and whose heart and personality are embodied in the course. Of the men who have controlled the destinies of the Club as Committeemen from time to time, no one has done more for Randwick and racing generally than the present Chief Justice of Australia, The Right Hon. Sir Adrian Knox, who was elected to the Committee in 1896 and was Chairman from 1907 to 1919. On his resignation the Club made a presentation to him of his portrait. A duplicate of the picture hangs in the Committee’s Council Room. The Adrian Knox Stakes, a race for three-year-old fillies, held early in the year, was also inaugurated in 1921 in his honour. During the time he acted as Chairman, Randwick was practically rebuilt, the prize-money was tremendously increased, Associations to control country racing were formed, and racing legislation generally widened and improved.

So long as racing flourishes in Australia the name of Sir Adrian Knox will be held in affectionate esteem by everyone who realises what a wonderful influence for good he brought to bear on turf matters generally.

General View of Randwick Racing and Training Tracks and Flat taken during Steeplechase.

Randwick Weighing Yard, Official and other Stands, and Judge’s Box.

The Flat at Randwick, with Betting Ring in foreground, St. Leger (on left), Members’, Grand, and Official Stands.

Plan of Randwick Racecourse.

A list of names of the men who have served on the Committee of the Jockey Club since 1870 is not out of place in an article such as this, and I am obliged to include my father’s name among those who helped to make the A.J.C. the respected and capable institution it is to-day. The names of the Committeemen who served for various periods since 1870 are Messrs. S. C. Brown, W. R. Campbell, Hon. H. C. Dangar, E. Lee, A. Thompson, H. Thompson, Henry Austin, J. W. Johnson, J. A. Scarr, Colonel Richardson, Water Hall, J. de V. Lamb, F. C. Griffiths, F. W. Hill, Hon. James White, Captain Osborne, W. B. Walford, J. Wentworth, Andrew Town, S. A. Stephen, F. C. Griffiths, J. H. Want, W. A. Long, W. C. Hill, Richard Jones, Junr., Dr. W. M. Traill, C. A. Goodchap, E. M. Betts, Vincent Dowling, Alex. Mackellar,Harry Chisholm, Sir Adrian Knox, F. W. Wentworth, A. Busby, George Lee,R. C. Allen, Ewan R. Frazer, A. Hooke, John McDonald,Hunter White,E. A. M. Merewether,C. C. Stephen,Sir Samuel Hordern,T. A. Stirton,F. A. Moses,Walter Brunton,George Main—the names of present Committee being in italics. Mr. C. C. Stephen has held the position of Chairman since the resignation of Sir Adrian Knox. He has proved himself a worthy successor to the best Chairman the Club ever had.

The Australian Jockey Club opens its Randwick season with what is known as the Spring Meeting, held generally during the last days of September and the first week in October. The racing is extended over four days. On the first day of this meeting the A.J.C. Derby is decided. This race, which is run over a mile and a half, is a classic event in which colts and geldings are asked to carry 8 st. 10 lbs., while fillies get an allowance of 5 lbs. The added money this year is 7,000 sovereigns, to which a sweepstake of 25 sovereigns from each starter is added. The breeder of the winner receives 250 sovereigns.

The Spring Stakes, a weight-for-age event, 1½ miles, involving 2,500 sovereigns, is another important race of this day, as well as the Epsom Handicap, 1 mile, of 3,000 sovereigns. A considerable amount of ante-post wagering in connection with this race and the Metropolitan is indulged in prior to the meeting. The second day’s programme includes the latter race, a handicap worth 6,000 sovereigns to the winner plus a sweepstake of 30 sovereigns for starters, the distance of which is one mile and five furlongs. The first two-year-old race of the New South Wales racing season is the other important event. The Breeders’ Plate, 5 furlongs, of 2,000 sovereigns, is reserved for colts, who are asked to carry 8 st. 5 lbs., and geldings 8 st. 2 lbs. The Craven Plate, weight-for-age, 1¼ miles, of 3,000 sovereigns, and the Gimcrack Stakes, 5 furlongs, of 2,000 sovereigns, for two-year-old fillies, form the attractive events of the third day; while on the last day’s racing a two-mile weight-for-age contest, known as the Randwick Plate, of 2,500 sovereigns, tests the stamina of the best.

Four richly endowed jumping races are included in the Spring Meeting programme.

Two meetings are held by the Jockey Club in December—the Villier’s Stakes, a mile handicap; the December Stakes, 5 furlongs, involving 2,000 sovereigns, for two-year-olds; and the Summer Cup, a handicap of a mile and five furlongs. A two-days’ meeting is held in the January of each year at which the Challenge Stakes, a six-furlong handicap, and the Anniversary Handicap, 1½ miles, are decided, as well as a race over the hurdles on each day; and the Adrian Knox Stakes, 1 mile, of 1,500 sovereigns, a set-weight race for three-year-old fillies.

The Autumn Meeting, held every Easter, offers a splendid programme to horse owners. On the first day is the Autumn Stakes, 1½ miles, weight-for-age, of 2,500 sovereigns; the Doncaster Handicap, 1 mile, of 3,000 sovereigns; the A.J.C. Sires’ Produce Stakes, 7 furlongs, for the two-year-old colts and geldings carrying 8 st. 10 lbs., and fillies 8 st. 7 lbs. The added money is 5,000 sovereigns in addition to a subscription of 10 sovereigns each from the sires nominated, the progeny of which are only eligible to compete. The nominator of the sire of the winner receives 250 sovereigns. The A.J.C. St. Leger, 1¾ miles, is also decided on this day, and is a classic race for colts, geldings and fillies, of 2,500 sovereigns added money. The second day of the Autumn Meeting is held on Easter Monday, and in the presence of some 80,000 people, which number increases each year, the Sydney Cup is run. This is the most important long-distance handicap decided at Randwick, and is run over two miles. The added money in 1921 was 6,000 sovereigns, and the best horses in Australia are to be generally found among the field. The Champagne Stakes, a six-furlong, set-weight, two-year-old race, is decided before the Cup is run. Colts are asked to carry 8 st. 10 lbs., fillies 8 st. 8 lbs., and geldings 8 st. 7 lbs., the winner receiving 3,000 sovereigns in added money. On the third day are the All-Aged Stakes, 1 mile, weight-for-age, of 2,500 sovereigns; the Easter Stakes, 7 furlongs, a special condition race for two-year-olds, of 750 sovereigns; and the Cumberland Stakes, 2 miles, weight-for-age, of 2,000 sovereigns. The concluding day’s racing contributes the A.J.C. Plate, 3 miles, weight-for-age; the second Steeplechase, and some interesting handicap races.

What may be termed the Jumping Meeting is held early in June, and this year the A.J.C., who have recently become alive to the importance and attractiveness of cross-country racing, wisely established the Australian Jockey Club Hurdle Race, 2 miles 3 furlongs, of 2,000 sovereigns added money, and a similarly named Steeplechase carrying the same amount of added money, and run over a course of about 3 miles.

So much for the races which the Club offers the horse owner in New South Wales. In addition to the fourteen days’ racing held at Randwick by the premier Club, the two principal Betting Clubs have six days between them there, while racing takes place every Saturday in the many proprietary racecourses around Sydney, the Rosehill Club being the principal of these moneymaking concerns.

But to return to Randwick. The pictures of the course and buildings will give a good idea of the general outlook. The racing track is of oblong shape, and the horses are asked to race round four easily negotiated turns in traversing the mile and three furlongs of grass sward, which the course proper measures in circumference two feet out from the inner rail. It is practically a level stretch from start to finish, though there is a gradual decline from the winning post to the mile and a quarter start and a slight rise between the four and the two furlong posts. The average breadth of the racing track from fence to fence is 100 feet, so that there is plenty of room on it for a very large-sized field of horses to race with safety. The plan of the course published in this book gives a good idea of the various training tracks; a recent improvement to the latter is the conversion of the sand into a cinder track, which will be of great value to work on during the wet months of the year.

A distinctive feature of Randwick is its steeplechase course, situated inside the course proper, and three other training tracks. A good field of jumpers streaming up the hill and negotiating the jump on the crown of it before racing down the steep incline to the foot is a splendid sight. Steeplechasing is gaining favour with the public, and one of the principal reasons forthis is that the horses are well in view for the greater part of the journey. The ascent and descent of the hill is most spectacular, and also serves as a good test of stamina. The credit for this successful innovation is due to the late Mr. Vincent Dowling, who was a thick-and-thin supporter of jumping, and during the time he was on the A.J.C. Committee did much for the “leppers” generally. There are eleven fences to be jumped at Randwick, all made of thickly packed solid brush, which will bring down any horse taking the slightest liberties with them. The average height of the jump is about 4 feet 3 inches and 2 feet 6 inches wide across the top. Only two other courses in Australia have a hill like Randwick—one in Victoria, at Warrnambool, and the other at Oakbank in South Australia. Randwick is a very convenient course for the average race-goer. It is situated some four miles from the Sydney Post Office and Railway Station; it can be easily reached by a very excellent tram service. Once inside the course one is struck by the splendid buildings, which are growing every year. The great Totalisator House, which handled in 1920 no less than £1,280,861, a sum that has increased largely since; the Grand Stands, capable of seating over 25,000 people on their spacious decks; the Members’ Enclosure; the Tea Rooms; the Leger Stand, etc. All these bear silent testimony to the great, steady progress of the Club. The crowds are each year increasing, and before long some big comprehensive scheme of remodelling the paddock and stand accommodation will have to be introduced. The erection of the Totalisator buildings has severely taxed the already somewhat overcrowded accommodation, and the problem of expansion is one which the A.J.C. will have to seriously consider. However, the policy of the Club has always been a progressive one, so we need not fear.

The Club now pays over £24,000 in wages annually, and to add to this big figure there is a Totalisator staff of over 400 when the machines are in work. Hitches at Randwick are unknown, and everything goes like clockwork from the time the turnstiles are opened on race days until the day’s racing is over. The starting is in the capable hands of Mr. Harry Mackellar, who not only has the confidence of the jockeys, from the smallest apprentice upwards, but is a thorough horseman in the truest sense of the word, and a starter by instinct. The important position of handicapper is filled by Mr. Fred Wilson, for many years the present Secretary’s right-hand man in the office, and now an established success as a weight adjuster. The Club is lucky in having two such officials.

One of the highest tributes the course has received in its long history comes from the present Prince of Wales, who during his visit to Sydney spent some of his happiest days riding impromptu races at Randwick.

It is the Mecca of Australia to the true horse-lover, and, sitting under its shady fig-trees, one may see the bronzed men of the far Northern Territory who have come thousands of miles to swell the cosmopolitan crowds which tread the green lawns and back their fancies. In the paddock the strangest conglomeration of people assembles, for racing is the greatest class leveller in the world. There is much truth in the saying that all men are equal both on the turf and under it.

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