THE Bendigo Jockey Club will honour former Bendigo trainer Phil Hartshorn at Sunday’s Christmas meeting.
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Boxing Day marks the 20th anniversary of Hartshorn’s death.
Hartshorn died on Boxing Day, 1994, as a result of a freak accident while taking a horse to the swimming hole at the BJC.
The horse he was riding shied and he was dragged for about 300m after his foot became entangled in a rope.
He died doing what he loved and what he’d done all his life.
In his 53 years, he’d spent most of his waking hours with horses, first as a jockey then as a trainer.
In between, he built a stable, found a wife, Doreen, raised a family of three children and made countless friends.
His family and friends will gather at the BJC on Sunday for the running of the Phillip Hartshorn Memorial Showcase.
Esteemed journalist Les Carlyon wrote the following for the inaugural Phil Hartshorn Memorial Meeting in February of 1995:
“Racing had made him neither rich nor famous, just happy.
He lived, as he had always wanted to, in the world of horses and racing folk, and that was joy enough.
Phil was the embodiment of what makes racing people special, just as his death is a reminder of the risks that are there, every day, for trainers, jockeys and track riders.
There would be no racing culture worth talking about unless there were thousands of people like Phil.
Phil believed racing had a heart and a soul.”
The Phillip Hartshorn Memorial Showcase is the feature event of the day and it’s attracted a strong field of 13.
Bendigo-trained galloper Primitive Man is one of the main chances in the race.
Trained by Shane Fliedner, Primitive Man is coming off a last-start second at Wangaratta.
Racegoers who attend Sunday’s BJC meeting and Monday’s Bendigo Harness Racing Club meeting can enter the draw to win a $2000 shopping voucher at Danny Clapp The Good Guys.
This is the first year the two clubs have combined to run the Christmas Bonanza promotion. Entry coupons for the competition will be on track on Sunday.