THE LAST POST SOUNDS FOR THE BRISBANE TURF CLUB

By Graham Potter | Thursday, June 18, 2009

The last meeting to be held by Brisbane Turf Club slipped quietly into the record books at Doomben yesterday. There was no fanfare ... no ceremony, but there was a sense of the historical occasion as the Club, which was formed in 1923, took its final curtain call.

At the end of this month the Brisbane Turf Club and the Queensland Turf Club will officially merge and lose their individual identities. On July 1, a new identity, the Brisbane Racing Club will be open for business.

Malcolm Holmes, the CEO of the Brisbane Turf Club put his feeling about the day into perspective.

Malcolm Holmes: “I think today is a day of celebration. Brisbane Turf Club has been racing here since 1933. It was established in 1923. This is one of those days to acknowledge that history, but it is also one in which we look forward with great anticipation to what should be a great era in racing in Brisbane.

“It’s been great to be part of it and to be involved with it. I think the future is going to be a great thing not only for Brisbane racing but for Queensland racing. With the merger now it just gives us the ability to be a lot more strategic and co-ordinated in our approach.

“You’ve seen that already with the Master-Plan as well, which you know is a massive project ... $1.2 billion ... and that secures the future for racing.” (See ‘Concept Master Plan put into play’ in the blog section of this site). “There are a lot of people employed in the industry and a lot of history involved in both clubs too, all of which will be looked after and I think the future will be a great thing.”

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