Parkes Harness Racing Club marks 110 years of trotting

While there’s also trotting at Parkes on Friday, December 28, the club will officially celebrate its 110-year anniversary at the December 31 Carnival of Cups Series meeting at the Parkes Showground.

The twilight TAB meeting will kick-off at 5.58pm, with face painting, kids raffle and a jumping castle on site, while the night will end with a fireworks display – the fourth year running the club will host new year’s eve fireworks – which start at 10pm.

Parkes has a rich history as one of the longest running, and at times, most powerful, trotting clubs in Australia.

By the 1920s, Parkes had become one of the most important trotting centres in the Commonwealth.

The district produced many champion horses and horsemen including Machine Brick, one of Australia’s best pacer following his win in the 1923 Sydney Thousand after coming from an 85 yard handicap and running record time of 2.13.5.

Machine Brick’s sire Rock Huon stood at Tomingley, north of Parkes and he started to produce top progeny thick and fast.

Machine Brick, owned by Jim Aubrey and raced by Geo Powter was known as a real gentleman that had all the attributes that you could look for in pace, stamina and temperament.

Other winners of the Sydney Thousand from the district included Pine Clump, Kole Boy, Lee Ribbon and Graceful Derby.

The district also produced some of the state’s leading trainer, drivers including the legendary JD Watts, WS Mazoudier, George Leister and Wally Townsend.

Alf Woods owned the well known and patronised Stud where Wirra Walla stood.

By the 1930s a number of local studs were starting to be established including ‘Rosewood Stud’, which was set up by WD Hando at Peak Hill.

The Hando family still operate the Stud today and some of the leading stallions that have stood for them include Peak Hill, Silver Peak, Lucky Western, Tarport Bill, Powerhouse Lobell and Shipps Fella.

WH Dumesny converted his ‘Ruby Vale Stud’ at Alectown from a Draft Horse to a Standardbred Stud.

The Dumesny family continued its stud operation right up until 2007 when the property was sold.

Some top stallions stood at ‘Ruby Vale’ including Master Dixie, Southern Brigade, Bashful Hanover, Amerigo Hanover, Langus Hanover, Insubordination, Explorador, Royal Chef and John Street North.

These two studs have been amongst the longest in operation in Australia.

The 1930s proved a pivotal decade for the club, with trotting moving to the Showground, where a half-mile track was laid.

Forty horse stalls were transported from the London Road site to the showground and a judges box, tote house and other necessary facilities were built.

After the War, trotting continued to flourish in the Parkes district and the club decided to take its most adventurous step since its inception by looking at the possibility of introducing night trotting.

That vision came to fruition in 1952 when Parkes became the first venue west of the Blue Mountains to conduct a night trotting meeting when a trial was held.

Mr HE Greagh, Chairman of Stewards for the NSW Trotting Club made a special trip to Parkes to inspect the installation and after taking a horse for a few laps of the track, he summed it up as ‘the finest track in the country areas of the state, and second only to Harold Park.’

The grand opening occurred on January 1, 1953 with an estimated crowd of around 5,500 packing the showground.

More recently, in the early 1980s, the committee was aware that an upgrade of the lighting system on the track was necessary and concerns were raised about the aging system.

The official opening of the Lighting facility was made on 1 January 1987 and the club waited a few years before re-applying for funding for the track reconstruction but first had to convince the Harness Racing Authority that they could meet the standards required.

Approval was given and at a cost of $150,000, the reconstruction of the Paceway, which included the erection of a sight fence, was completed in August 1990, the official opening of the new track took place on November 24 that year.

Allan Thompson was the president of the club during this time but Colin Lees took charge of the project after Thompson was injured while mowing.

Lees took over as president of the club in 1992 and has been a committeeman for 33 years.

One of the best races the club has hosted was run in 1968, a heat of the Western District Trotting Association Championship.

After an initial postponement due to five inches of rain had falling, the field hadn’t gone a lap when two horses fell, those being Bermuda Chief and Magic’s First.

Champion Riverina three-year-old, Glenerrol (Roy Harpley) came to Parkes chasing his 18th straight win in this race and just when he was making his move he struck trouble and Harpley was dislodged from his gig.

Then in an exciting finish, Sky Boy (Sid Joyce) which had led was joined right on the line by Cocky Raider (Jack McWilliam) and after calling for two developed prints, the judge couldn’t split them, declaring a dead heat. 

One-eyed pacer, Vensmore Nelson (Bill Sutton) was just half a head back in third.

It was the first dead heat since the Parkes Club had installed the photo finish camera three years earlier. 

Entry is $10 for the new year’s eve meeting, while children under 15 are free.