FOR almost 50 years Ken Keating has been a familiar face at not only the Bendigo Jockey Club, but racetracks across country Victoria.
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Easily recognisable in his red jacket on a white or grey horse, Keating has been a Clerk of the Course since 1972.
He started at Bendigo 46 years ago, and that’s where he will finish on Sunday when he retires from a role that has required him to assemble horses in the parade yard for stewards, safely assist jockeys to the barriers and post-race return and lead in the winners.
“I took over from Allen Browell, who had done it here at Bendigo for a couple of years before he went into professional training,” Keating said on Friday.
“I was friends with Allen through the Bendigo Pony Club and that’s how I got into it.”
And it didn’t take Keating long from his early days in Bendigo to become in demand at other racetracks around country Victoria.
The following year in 1973 Keating took on the full-time Clerk of the Course role at Kyneton and in 1977 he was in the saddle at Echuca.
“People from Kyneton saw me here when I was starting out and I went down there in 1973 and have been there since,” Keating said.
“Then in 1977 they wanted me to go to Echuca, so they have been the three main tracks, but there have been other tracks that I have worked at as well filling in where needed.”
Outside of his regulars at Bendigo, Kyneton and Echuca, Keating has also worked tracks at Gunbower, Hanging Rock, Moama, Kerang, Swan Hill, Seymour, Kilmore, Tatura, Ballarat and Donald.
“I averaged probably one meeting a week, but in later years it has probably been a bit more,” Keating said.
“Kyneton used to have 15 or so meetings a year, Echuca would have 11 or 12 and Bendigo about 20.”
Throughout his career Keating estimates he’s ridden about 20 different horses in his role – the first being a 17-hand grey named Randy.
“I rode Allen Browell’s horse for the first two or three meetings and then found Randy here in Bendigo and ended up paying 90 dollars for him,” Keating said.
“I had him for a couple of years and then I began training my horses.”
Throughout his 46 years Keating’s skills in the saddle were highly regarded with a reputation for being able to spot and react swiftly to problems.
One of which was a day at Kyneton when he caught a horse headed in the wrong direction towards the oncoming field.
“It’s one of those roles where you can never predict what will happen,” Keating said.
“You never know when they hit the track before a race whether a jockey will fall off, or whether they will fall after a race, so you have to be prepared for anything.”
Trainers have been known to routinely request Keating to lead their most problematic horses to the barriers due to his renowned strength, skill and patience.
Among those trainers is Bendigo’s Rod Symons, who also spent 10 years sharing the BJC Clerk of the Course with Keating.
“Ken is a no-fuss man… he would take the hard line to make sure he got his tough job done,” Symons said.
“He is a very good horseman and you’d always make sure you got to him early to help with any problem horses. There was a lot of horsemanship that Ken knew to get them around to the gates to settle.”
Keating’s special touch with horses can be best summed up by him suffering only one injury in his 46-year career.
“The only time I got hurt was the first year I was at Kyneton and on their Cup Day I got kicked by a horse in the mounting yard,” Keating said.
“I left my long boots on until I got home, and once I took them off I had to go up to the Bendigo Hospital to get stitches in my leg.
“Back in those days the Kyneton Cup was the week before the Bendigo Cup, so I ended up missing the Bendigo Cup that year.
“That was the only Bendigo Cup I missed.”
The only time Keating has taken off during his career was while recuperating from two hip replacements.
BJC chief executive officer Aaron Hearps says the length of Keating’s contribution will go down in club folklore.
“The Keating name is synonymous with horse racing in Bendigo and Ken’s long-standing contribution to the racing industry in Victoria is an amazing achievement,” Hearps said.
“Bendigo has proudly produced a long list of outstanding participants who have made significant contributions to our industry over the years and Ken’s achievement will be remembered as being right up against the most valuable.”
Now 72, Ken, who lives at Campbells Forest, says he’s disappointed to be hanging up his red coat and saddle, but he has listen to what his body is telling him.
“I’ve had a really good run, but I’ve got very stiff in the joints through my hips and with some arthritis, and being on a farm shearing sheep takes a bit of a toll,” Keating said.
“I don’t want to be one of those people who stayed on too long, so I’ll get out now.”