Moonee Valley Trots 40yrs Anniversary

Please expand further.

MV Trots began on the 30 oct 1976. If the right people had been in charge they would still be there and not at that sh/hole melton.

At the time in 1976 MV Racing Club was struggling financially. The money derived from the trots coming on board helped develop MV into what it is today.

Didn't know that. Always regretted never getting to MV. Why did they move to Melton?

That's a question many in the industry often ask

a know all called mcewen took charge of mv harness and immediately started fking the place up. sacked B Markovic, terrific caller, starting sacking anyone on penalty rates from chefs to barmaids, started a witch hunt on people who might have been attending without paying, rationalised all on course services to patrons to the point of not actually having any... and just fked up every single thing that made a night at the trots a pleasant experience. abs. fkwit.

He sounds like a CXNT. Just to play Devil's Advocate with you how about this? The trots pretty much died in Sydney as well and attendance to gallops meetings outside of the big carnivals is basically zero.

Didn't they move because they wanted to own their own track? Doesn't matter that only 3 people turn up these days.

Brian Markovic was great.

The trots are dieing a death of a thousand cuts from bad management and no attendances. Profits from trots at the Goats is a distant third to horse racing and the dish lickers, as Sports betting continues to rise eventually the goats will cut it adrift. Will have bled to death by 2030. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Went to MV Trots a few times when I was younger .... great atmosphere and great experience. Would do MV Friday night, day gallops meeting on the Saturday and a night at the Cas before getting on a plane back to Sydney on the Sunday.

I can only assume that Melton is like Menangle here in NSW these days - no one goes aside from Miracle Mile day and even then, I wouldnt say it is a huge crowd.

I loved the trots once upon a time - its a shame that the sport is the way it is these days. Hopefully the glory days will return but I fear they will not.

the night V knight told the punters they had their heads up their ar..s was a pivotal moment. i've never seen so many angry red faces. two of my crowd said they would never come to mv again with real anger shiining out of their eyes..... and guess what ??? they didn't ... crowds dropped 2-3 thousand from the next meeting onwards adding to the general decline started by mcewen and the startup of the alternatives that mcewens management didn't forsee, and couldn't have cared less about anyway (tabarets )

Reminds me of the time Jim Richards told the Bathurst crowd they were a pack of ****s.

Tell me more about Vinnie abusing the punters. I can't remember it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjZNP9pnIJQ

Thanks. So I'm thinking Bag Limit got beaten as a fav the previous week then got a bowed tendon during the week (sounds very unlikely) and then thrashes them in the Cup and VJ gets booed and fires back. So we need to see the race the previous Saturday. Find that now please GS.

LEGEND has it that when Vin Knight took his life, he took harness racing with him.

Knight, who died in his car on a roadside near Kilmore in April, 1991, was the flamboyant face of a sport teetering between eras.

At the time the street whispers in the industry was very unhappy Newcastle Mafia folk

'Newcastle Mafia'?????

Yep--very large harness punters in the day-others here from the day can confirm

That looked like Keith Stackpole behind Knight's right shoulder at the end.
He must of been the celebrity guest for the big race.

On a brighter note--Henry Luca gained his 'Giant Killer' tag after nailing in the last stride  a KNIGHT 4/6 into 1/2  FAV in a big final at Albion Park====one of Kevin Thomas's  GREATEST Drives imo

Keith Stackpole I believe worked for Winfield the sponsors of the cup in those years

Good lord, ex-cricketer's working for tobacco companies, that was a long time ago.

I note that Lance Justice has failed in his attempt to gain election to the Melton City Council.

https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Results/Council2016/MeltonResult.html#e2