It was the night before Derby Day in 2019 and, while most of Victoria’s racegoers were undoubtedly praying for fine weather, one man was lying awake wishing for rain.

As track manager for the Victoria Racing Club, Liam O’Keeffe was in charge of creating prime conditions for the thoroughbred horse races the next afternoon. Heavy rainfall had been forecast for the evening, so he’d elected not to water the track. If the rain didn’t come, the grass would be dry and his job potentially on the line.