Racing award winner a red hot favourite

‘I go to all the race meetings, I go well dressed … and all the old sheilas give me a cuddle.’

AWARDED: Eidsvold racing personality Jack Murray was recently recognised at the On The Bit Country Racing Awards. Picture: Sam Turner.

IF you’ve been to a race meet in the Wide Bay Burnett, you’ve most likely seen Eidsvold icon Jack Murray.

A man who is synonymous with racing, Jack has been involved in horse racing for more than 40 years, never missing a meet.

His love and dedication to racing had him recognised this year at the On The Bit Country Racing Awards, walking away with the Clubperson/Volunteer of the Year and Hall of Fame Participant award.

Unbeknown to Mr Murray, he didn’t know he was nominated, with his son Bob Murray accepting the award on his behalf.

When asked why he thought he’d won, Mr Murray was as cool as they come.

“I go to all the race meetings, I go well dressed, nearly everybody knows who I am,” Mr Murray said.

“And all the old sheilas come give me a cuddle.”

He has trained and worked with horses for more than four decades, travelling everywhere from Chinchilla to Thangool.

One particular season 20 years ago, one of Mr Murray’s mares won 17 races.

He originally built a horse stud out on his farm and later on built the stables out at the Eidsvold racecourse.

His success seems to be genetic, with son Bob taking over the reins and achieving the same results.

“A year or two ago we had a horse called Better Idea and it won the Eidsvold Cup, the Monto Cup, the Gayndah Cup and the Chinchilla Cup, one after the other.”

Now at the age of 92, Mr Murray goes wherever his son’s horses go, having a front-row seat to the action every race day.

“I sign in the horses on the day, that’s why everyone knows me,” he said.

“I go to the secretaries and they know me, and the bookmakers know me.

“Sometimes they’re not too keen on me either.”

In one particular instance, the bookmakers increased the odds of a horse at the Monto races to see if Jack would bite.

“It was wet, raining like buggery and they only had four races, and we had already won the first one.

“It was already 16-1, but when I went in they wanted my money, they wound him out to 20-1.

“They weren’t laughing when I was collecting after the race.”

So how does Mr Murray pick his horse?

“I usually pick a winner on form, or I’ll know someone who knows something.

“What I usually do is after I have smoko, I always have $20 on the favourite in the first and 80 per cent of the time they win.

“Then I’ll bet on our horses once they start racing.”

If there are two of their horses in each race, however, Mr Murray admits he is likely to choose the wrong one.

For Mr Murray, the one meet he looks forward to during the year would have to be the Eidsvold races.

“For some reason everyone wants to go to them, and they have a terrific crowd out there.

“It’s the preferential one, since I don’t have to travel so far.”

Mr Murray never misses a meet in the region, saying there would have to be something “bloody wrong” for him to skip it.

“They can’t have them without me,” he said.

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