October
JanuaryDon't forget Keith
I read with a lot of interest Paul Richards’s column about the burial places of champion racehorses (21/1, contunues page 118).
Horse racing is full of history, yet sometimes history is neglected and can be forgotten. But it never should. It should be revived constantly for the benefit of all, young and old.
I have recently researched the life of Keith Voitre. He was a champion New Zealand jockey who came to Melbourne to ride in 1934 and had phenomenal success all over Australia. He won a host of major races including the Melbourne Cup in 1935 on Marabou at the ripe old age of 22.
He suffered a lot of injuries in his career and the papers around Australia were full of stories about Voitre. Sadly, he died in a race fall at Moonee Valley in 1938, at just 25 years.
We will never know what he could have achieved. According to the Argus newspaper, six train carriages were filled with mourners and thousands of people attended his funeral and final burial place at Fawkner cemetery, which I visited recently. He was an extremely popular jockey. Voitre’s memory could easily be filed away as gone and forgotten. But I have other ideas.
For a start, a book is waiting to be written about his life. Then, one of the Victorian race clubs should honour his memory with a memorial annual race named in his honour. As he was a New Zealander, it should be an invitation race open to both Australian and New Zealand jockeys to compete for a memorial trophy. The race should be marketed as a highlight of the calendar.
The race clubs should jump at this opportunity. Next year, 2013, Keith Voitre would have celebrated his 100th birthday, so the race should be instituted at least before this time.
I think that it is time to not let history get away, but to embrace it and celebrate it. If not, it will be forgotten.
With Keith Voitre, there is a chance to celebrate a brilliant young man’s life once again.
Melbourne