Gilgandra’s John Smith was sleepless with anticipation ahead of the Tuesday’s Gilgandra Gold Cup race meeting, which he labelled a “double celebration”.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The former Gilgandra Jockey Club treasurer marked his 80th birthday on the race day that also honours his late wife Kate, herself a former secretary at the club.
The couple devoted a combined 98 years of service to the club.
He was treated to a special birthday luncheon under the club marquee, before presenting the Kate Smith Memorial Gold Cup to the winner of the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1550 metres): the Leo Harland-trained Trust Me Bill.
It was not the first running of the Kate Smith Memorial Gold Cup, but that didn’t make it any less “important” to John.
“It’s in memory of my wife who I lost two years ago … it’s really important to me,” he said.
“It makes my day and it’s really exciting.
“I haven’t been able to sleep for nights looking forward to this.”
As well as helping with the administration of the club, John and Kate owned “many, many horses”, winning more than 60 races.
They “loved horses” and racing, and “worked very hard”.
When asked to name a few close to his heart, John said “there were several”.
“There was a very good horse called Flying Blaze and another one was called Dahquander.
“There was quite a few that won a lot of races but we weren’t lucky enough to have one win in Sydney.
John and Kate “weren’t fortunate enough” to have children, but the club has been their family.
“Kate was a very special person … known as Auntie Kate to most people growing and going to the races,” club chairman Andrew Schier said.
“Kate and John had 98 years’ service between them in the jockey club as secretary and treasurer so they really ran the jockey club for all that time.
“I was fortunate enough to work alongside them both when I started 23 years ago and they worked along for about 13 or 14 years with me, so it’s a special day.”
Would you like more Dubbo sporting news?
You can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Daily Liberal. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up to our free or subscriber only newsletters below: