Melbourne Cup 150^th Anniversary Tour 15^th October 2010

Featured Image: Geoff White and the author with five (5) Melbourne Cups; ‘Poitrel’ (1920), ‘Rimfire’ (1948), ‘Evening Peel’ (1956), ‘Kensei’ (1987) and 2010 later won by ‘Americain’

Listen also audio: The Upper Hunter and the Melbourne Cup have a lot more links than you think – Breakfast – ABC Radio

Mayor’s Speech

Welcome to Victoria Racing Board director Mrs Amanda Elliott, VRC Ambassador Mr Des Gleeson, accompanying Melbourne Cup personnel, Sponsors, Councillors, and members of the UHSC community.

The Melbourne Cup is the race that stops the nation and in 2010 the famous race celebrates its 150th Anniversary.  Scone has embraced the spirit of this anniversary tour and has played host to a wide range of related activities this week. These activities have included: a race fanfare musical playoff and national anthem singing competition local schools, an open day at Invermien Stud,  and a ‘Track Truths’ session yesterday which saw ABC reporter Mike Pritchard interview local Melbourne Cup personality Greg Bennett.

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The Australian Horse Centre @ Scone

See:  Featured image of front cover of full report

Executive Summary

The Australian Horse Centre, Scone NSW is a shared vision for the Upper Hunter horse industry to celebrate the region as the premier Equine epicentre and ‘Horse Capital of Australia’.

Scone and its surrounding areas are renowned as being one of the world’s largest and most respected thoroughbred breeding centres second only to Kentucky, USA. The region also boasts the headquarters of the Australian Stock Horse Society, the largest horse breed association in Australia with over 170,000 registered horses.

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HATS WERE GONE WITH THE WIND

See: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1132647

Opening of Carnival at Scone

FROM OUR SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE

SCONE, Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 28 August1939

Featured Image: Portion of Page ‘For Women’ in the SMH 28 August 1939. See ‘Trove’ above and: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17607932/1132647

Authors Note:

This meeting might have heralded the end of an era; and the rebirth of a new? Hostilities in Europe erupted shortly after. Everything changed with the advent of WWII. It strikes me that this level of ‘upwardly enhanced’ social engagement did not re-eventuate following the end of the war? In actual fact the genesis of what emerged as the ‘new’ Scone Race Club took place in 1944 with the first race meeting held at White Park in May 1947?

The meeting at St Aubins private track in August 1939 played host to inchoate champion apprentice Neville Sellwood; then 16 years old. He had ridden his first winner at Doomben earlier that year. He rode three horses for Alan Cooper including a second placing. The details of the meeting can be found on page at: https://sconevetdynasty.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Scones-Racing-History-2nd-Edition-.pdf on Pages 68 – 70.

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