THE A.J.C. AND RANDWICK • 129 



this is that the horses are well in view for the greater part of the journey. The 

 ascent and descent of the hill is most spectacular, and also serves as a good test 

 of stamina. The credit for this successful innovation is due to the late Mr. 

 Vincent Dowling, who w^as a thick-and-thin supporter of jumping, and during 

 the time he was on the A.J.C. Committee did much for the "leppers" 

 generally. There are eleven fences to be jumped at Randwick, all made of 

 thickly packed solid brush, which will bring down any horse taking the slightest 

 liberties with them. The average height of the jump is about 4 feet 3 inches 

 and 2 feet 6 inches wide across the top. Only two other courses in Australia 

 have a hill like Randwick — one in Victoria, at Warnambool, and the other at 

 Oakbank in South Australia. Randwick is a very convenient course for the 

 average race-goer. It is situated some four miles from the Sydney Post Office 

 and Railway Station; it can be easily reached by a very excellent tram service. 

 Once inside the course one is struck by the splendid buildings, which are 

 growing every year. The great Totalisator House, which handled in 1920 

 no less than £1,280,861, a sum that has increased largely since; the Grand 

 Stands, capable of seating over 25,000 people on their spacious decks; the 

 Members' Enclosure; the Tea Rooms; the Leger Stand, etc. All these bear 

 silent testimony to the great, steady progress of the Club. The crowds are each 

 year increasing, and before long some big comprehensive scheme of remodel- 

 ling the paddock and stand accommodation will have to be introduced. The 

 erection of the Totalisator buildings has severely taxed the already somewhat 

 overcrowded accommodation, and the problem of expansion is one which the 

 A.J.C. will have to seriously consider. However, the policy of the Club has 

 always been a progressive one, so we need not fear. 



The Club now pays over £24,000 in wages annually, and to add to this 

 big figure there is a Totalisator staff of over 400 when the machines are in 

 work. Hitches at Randwick are unknown, and everything goes like clock- 

 work from the time the turnstiles are opened on race days until the day's racing 

 is over. The starting is in the capable hands of Mr. Harry Mackellar, who 

 not only has the confidence of the jockeys, from the smallest apprentice 

 upwards, but is a thorough horseman in the truest sense of the word, and a 

 starter by instinct. The important position of handicapper is filled by Mr. 

 Fred Wilson, for many years the present Secretary's right-hand man in the 

 office, and now an established success as a weight adjuster. The Club is 

 lucky in having two such officials. 



One of the highest tributes the course has received in its long history 

 comes from the present Prince of Wales, who during his visit to Sydney spent 

 some of his happiest days riding impromptu races at Randwick. 



It is the Mecca of Australia to the true horse-lover, and, sitting under its 

 shady figtrees, one may see the bronzed men of the far Northern Territory 

 who have come thousands of miles to swell the cosmopolitan crowds which 

 tread the green lawns and back their fancies. In the paddock the strangest 

 conglomeration of people assembles, for racing is the greatest class leveller in 

 the world. There is much truth in the saying that all men are equal both on 

 the turf and under it. 



