About the JRC
The Jamestown Racing Club
The earliest mention of racing at Jamestown can be found in the (SA) Weekly Mail of Saturday March 20 1875 with an information announcement that a two day race meeting is scheduled to be held on March 29 and 30 of that year. This was followed up a week later with:
Jamestown will be the centre of attraction for most of our sporting men during the holiday week, Easter Monday and following day being fixed on by the Jamestown Racing Club for holding their annual meeting. The program which comprises 11 events has been arranged in such manner as cannot fail to give general satisfaction to those who are interested in the sports.
Subsequent reports indicate the meeting a success with 700 spectators on the opening day and keen racing conducted on both days. For the record, the first winner was Mr JW Gleeson’s Ivanhoe.
The Club conducted a number of subsequent meetings in 1885, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1891 and 1895 before racing became a permanent annual fixture in 1897.
As settlement of rural and regional districts took place and people formed towns and communities one of their initial forms of sport and recreation was invariably the ‘local’ race meeting – in most cases being organised within a couple of years of proclamation of their town. The popularity of racing as a sport is evident through the proliferation of race meetings at populated settlements between 1850 and 1900. The following are the earliest recorded race meeting venues in the northern parts of the State.
Saddleworth 1853, Auburn 1854, Burra 1857, Hamilton 1858, Gawler 1859, Mintaro 1859, Watervale 1859, Willaston 1859, Melrose 1860, Stirling-Saltia 1860, Penworthham 1863, Edeowie 1864, Morning Star (Kapunda) 1864, Two Wells 1864, Sevenhills 1865, Stockport 1867, (Port) Wakefield 1868, Gilbert Town 1869, Bungaree 1870, Undalya 1870, Farrell Flat 1871, Point Pass 1871, (Port) Broughton Extension 1873, Eudunda 1873, Laura 1873, Redhill 1873, Georgetown 1874, Hallett 1874, Hoyleton 1874, Mallala 1874, Port Augusta (& Flinders) 1874, Riverton 1874, Terowie 1874, Dublin 1875, Jamestown 1875, Kooringa 1875, Narridy 1875, Sliding Rock 1875, Balaklava C1876, Clare C1876, Gulnare 1876, Hamley Bridge 1876, Hanson 1876, Rochester 1876, Yarcowie 1876, Willowie 1876, Beautiful Valley 1878, Crystal Brook 1878, Gladstone 1878, Orroroo 1878, Pekina 1878, Wirrabara 1878, Morgan 1880, Booleroo (Centre) 1881, Hammond 1881, Quorn 1881, Spalding 1881, Warnertown 1882, Blyth 1883, Petersburg 1883, Carrieton 1884, Eurelia C1885, Snowtown 1888, Dawson 1889, Yongala 1889, Yardea 1890, Waukaringa 1891, Whitwarta 1892, Marrabel 1893, Port Pirie 1894, Port Germein 1894, Koolunga 1895, Parachilna 1896, Yatina 1898, Yunta 1901, Martindale 1904, Stone Hut 1906, Stanley Flat 1907, Caltowie 1907, and Manoora C1911.
The early race meetings organised by the Jamestown Racing Club were conducted on properties belonging to (it’s) Committee Members. In 1908 three Committee Members purchased 83 acres of land situated about a mile south of the town for ₤730/16/- and held title in Trust for the Club. The first meeting on this site (known for a long time as the new course) was held on Wednesday March 4 1908.
The Club’s 1910 meeting, although unremarkable at the time, would prove significant in terms of its impact upon Australian racing history. It was at this meeting that an amateur owner/rider by the name of James Martin Cummings would bring his mare Myrtle for the Belalie Stakes over 6 furlongs. Jim Cummings had just travelled from Alice Springs to Eurelia (north of Orroroo) with the mare when he noticed an upcoming race meeting being advertised for Jamestown. He entered the mare and duly won the 7 sovereign prize. For Jim Cummings, his win at Jamestown with Myrtle was his first as a trainer at a registered race meeting. That win would propel him on a career as a racehorse trainer that would culminate with a victory in the 1950 Melbourne Cup with Comic Court and give inspiration to his son, James Bartholomew Cummings, to also seek a career in the racing industry. Bart would go one better than his father and train multiple Melbourne Cup winners beginning with Light Fingers in 1965 and going through to Viewed in 2008. In every sense the Cummings racing dynasty had its origins at the 1910 Jamestown race meeting. In this sense Jamestown can lay claim to being the birthplace of legends. The result of that historical race is given as:
Belalie Stakes 2nd Division
Of 10 sovs. First 7 sovs. Second 2 sovs. Third 1 sov.
6 furlongs.
£6.10s JM Cummings’ Myrtle 9st (owner) 1
£39.10 W Warren’s The Gambler 9st (Wright) 2
£13.10 J Mannix’s Mystic Maid 9st (Fry) 3
Other starters: Zimbuk, Nice John, Todmalin, Sandy, Fairyland, Lady Mayfield, Maggie Moore.
Amount invested £186.15 Dividend for 5s £6/9/3
[A description of the race was then provided] The biggest field of the day lined up in front of the barrier for this race. Mystic Maid went away from the start, but at the turn gave way to The Gambler with Myrtle close handy. On entering the straight Myrtle had obtained the lead and coming away won comfortably from The Gambler who was about two lengths to the front of Mystic Maid. Time 1 min 23 secs.
From 1897 racing at Jamestown was conducted by the Jamestown Jockey Club, a name which remained until 1913 when the Club was formed into a Limited Company and ‘traded’ as the Jamestown Racing Club. Upon formation of the Limited Company the three Club trustees transferred the title of the race course to the Jamestown Racing Club. The Limited Company held title of the site until 1966 when it divested itself of that status and was incorporated as the Jamestown Racing Club Inc (being its present status).