Veteran Gosford dogs racecaller John McDermott reflects on great days
JOHN McDermott is the voice of Gosford greyhound racing. His 42-year racecalling career will come to end when the dog racing ban kicks in on July 1 next year.
Central Coast
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WHEN John McDermott called his first race at the Gosford greyhounds track, Gough Whitlam was Prime Minister and petrol cost less than 20c/litre.
“Yes, it was a long time ago — but I was very, very young,” John McDermott joked on Tuesday after calling race four at Gosford’s first meeting since the State Government announced it would shut down dog racing from July 1 next year.
It was 1974 when “Macca” picked up the peepers and fell in love with greyhound racing. And he has nothing but fond memories of race days at Gosford.
The mid-’70s was a time when thousands flocked to Gosford dogs, trots and horse meetings.
“I remember crowds back then at Gosford dog meetings of about 3000 people, as well as more than 30 oncourse bookmakers. They were great days when racing was a regular social event,” the 72-year-old said, perched above the home straight on a balmy evening.
On Tuesday night, just one bookie was fielding on track — “a sign of the times”, Macca says.
“People can bet from their lounge rooms now, and that’s just the way it is,” he said.
However, the voice of Gosford greyhounds was delighted to see the nearly 500 people in attendance at the track.
“It’s great to see so many people out here supporting the industry at a tough time,” the Sky Channel veteran caller, whose wife Susan trains greyhounds, said.
Asked how he reacted to the State Government’s decision to euthanise dog racing, he said: “I was pretty shattered; you just think that could never happen.
“For many trainers it’s their livelihood.
“But everyone’s keeping an eye on people in the industry now — especially the older ones — and I think that’s important.”
He said the ban would spell the end of his calling days next year.
“That’ll be it for me,” he said. “Like everyone else, the thing I’ll miss most is the friendships at the track. It’s what makes greyhound racing so special.”
BUMPER CROWD BACKS ‘DISHIES’
THE biggest crowd seen in years at Gosford’s greyhound races turned out in force to support the embattled $74 million local industry on Tuesday night.
Nearly 500 people — three times more than the average meeting attendance — sent a strong message to the State Government that it would not accept its decision to ban the battlers’ sport from July 1 next year.
Trainers, handlers, officials and punters were united in their opposition against the death of dog racing at the Gosford club’s first meeting since Premier Mike Baird cut down their beloved sport earlier this month.
“It’s just so devastating for everyone in the industry,” veteran Kanwal trainer Keith Jarvis said.
Fellow trainer Frank Anderson said the Government’s “disgraceful” call was a blow to the way of life of thousands of fulltime and hobby greyhound trainers.
“I’ve been involved in the industry a long time (40 years) and I can honestly say it’s the cleanest I’ve ever seen it. I don’t know politics, but I do know this is unfair.”
Gosford greyhounds club director Brad Sabotic said hundreds of jobs would be lost if the Government pulled the pin on racing for the ‘dishies’.
“It will be devastating,” Mr Sabotic said. “There are many who have poured their life savings into the sport and taken out huge mortgages. It’s a huge lifestyle for the industry people, and it’s intergenerational for many. For these people, greyhound racing is all they know.”
The Baird Government announced on July 7 that it would become the first state in Australia to ban greyhound racing in response to “widespread illegal and unconscionable activity, including the slaughtering of tens of thousands of dogs”.
Mr Baird said an inquiry found between 48,000 and 68,000 greyhounds bred to race were killed in the past 12 years because they were deemed “uncompetitive”.
A Special Commission of Inquiry found evidence of doping within the industry, including use of EPO and steroids. It also found “up to 20 per cent of trainers engage in live baiting”.
The death of greyhound racing will spell the end of decades of races run at the Gosford track, which is operated by NSW Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA), the State’s biggest club. The land is owned by the State Government.
Mr Sabotic, who also owns and breeds dogs, said the sport of greyhound racing was “far from dead”.
“We’ll fight this unfair decision all the way,” he said. “The vast majority of industry participants abide by the rules, and unfortunately they have been penalised by a few bad eggs.
“From a participant’s perspective, the integrity, welfare and swabbing policies are as stringent and strict as they’ve ever been. I believe the sport’s far from dead.”
‘CRUEL ATTACK ON BATTLERS’
KEITH Jarvis and Frank Anderson will never come to terms with the State Government’s killer blow to greyhound racing.
The veteran Central Coast trainers are fuming over what they say is a cruel attack on thousands of battling dog lovers.
“I’m that angry because I know many people in the industry whose dogs are like their kids,” Mr Jarvis, 62, of Kanwal, said.
Mr Anderson, who has been training dogs for 40 years, said the Government’s decision was “devastating”. “It’s been such a shock to all the trainers, and everyone involved in greyhounds,” the 58-year-old said after his dog, Muriel’s Memory, won the opening race on Tuesday night at the Gosford meeting.
Mr Anderson, who races several dogs, said he was hoping to supplement his pension with greyhound training when he retired — “but that doesn’t look like happening now”.
For Mr Jarvis, who has been involved in the greyhound industry for 30 years, said he feared for the welfare of many trainers and their beloved dishlickers.
“The Government needs to know that greyhounds keep people alive.”
‘MY MAIN ENTERTAINMENT IN LIFE’
ALLAN Holmes has been attending greyhound meetings on the Central Coast for five decades.
It’s his love and, as the 79-year-old concedes, “my main enjoyment in life”.
“I don’t like going to the movies or anything like that. I love the company at the track,” Mr Holmes, who is great mates with Gosford racecaller John McDermott, said at the Gosford meeting on Tuesday. A renowned form expert on the local dishlickers, he does “pretty good” on the punt.
“Tonight I’ve only had one bet, which was a winner — Xena Keroma in race four and it paid $3.40 on fixed odds. I always have a good night here, but it’s even better now,” he said with a big smile.
What does he plan to do for entertainment when dog meetings in NSW cease?
“I really don’t know; it’ll be a sad day for everyone.”
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