50 AMATEUR DAY For many decades the Warrnambool Amateur Turf Club raced on the middle day of our famous three-day carnival. The WATC was formed in 1859, 14 years before the Warrnambool Racing Club. It was initially named the Warrnambool and Belfast Amateur Turf Club, it being intended that its race meetings would alternate between Warrnambool and Belfast (Port Fairy). The first meeting was held at Belfast on Thursday 8 December 1859, but thereafter the WATC always raced at Warrnambool. In the early years the sport was practically independent of the betting ring, the wagers being principally made between the owner-riders and their friends. From the time of its formation the rules of ‘The Club’, as those in the inner circle referred to it, required that all horses running at its meetings be owned and ridden by members of the Club. Although the rules were relaxed over time, to permit sons of members and honorary members to ride, ‘Amateur Day’ remained an entirely amateur meeting until racing at Warrnambool went into recess due to World War II after the 1941 May Carnival. The amateurs had flexibility in race programming. They introduced the Novel Race in 1866. It was a condition of that race that the weights be not less than 14 stone (88 kg), no doubt in order to give the more senior and portly members of the Club an opportunity to display their skills in the saddle. Galleywood Hurdle First Run 1995 The Cunning Fox (NZ) ridden by Tom Ryan wins the 2025 Margaret Lucas Galleywood Hurdle. Source: Racing Photos.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA1NTI=