Sport
16 October, 2024
Racing veteran Dell to make a homecoming at Horsham Cup after 44 years
Ex-Horsham journalist Dell reflects on decades in journalism.
Garry Dell, a former Wimmera Mail-Times journalist and seasoned racing writer, is set for a nostalgic return to Horsham for this year's Horsham Cup on October 20.
At 83, Dell is believed to be Australia's oldest working journalist, currently contributing racing stories to Queensland Racing's official website.
Dell, who covered Wimmera racing and trotting events in the mid-1960s, last attended the Horsham Cup in 1966.
After decades of journalism across regional Victoria and Queensland, Dell is excited to revisit the town where his career took off.
A career in racing journalism
Dell, who has lived in Queensland for 44 years, joined The Mail-Times from the Latrobe Valley and worked with editor Alan Lockwood, photographer Ian Ward and fellow journalists Maurice Lawson, Gary Trotter and Michael Jaensch as well as the late-Alan Finch.
He became the North West District Racing Association publicity officer under the late Bert Grigg who became Chairman of the Victorian Country Racing Council and an early country representative on the Victorian TAB.
Dell covered many racing stories including a riding double at Nhill by then-apprentice jockey John Hawkes and a serious fall at Nhill which ended the career of jockey Don Laskey'
His last Horsham Cup he attended was in 1966 when Imperialist, trained by Neil Pickering and ridden by Jim Kennedy finished second to a horse trained by Tom Neale from South Australia. Imperialist won his next start in the Ararat Cup.
Dell was also a talented footballer and played a season with Quantong as well as covering Wimmera FL matches.
As well as his Wimmera racing coverage, he also worked at the Hamilton Cup carnival for The Hamilton Spectator.
Dell moved from Horsham back to the Latrobe Valley as a senior journalist/acting editor on the Traralgon Journal and had similar roles at Moe, Warragul , Kerang and Colac before becoming a regional correspondent for the daily Geelong Advertiser and later in the Geelong office.
He was recruited to Brisbane in 1980 as a sub-editor on the afternoon daily Brisbane Telegraph and later worked on the Queensland Country Life newspaper and also the Brisbane daily Sun and Sunday Sun as sub-editor on the racing pages.
When the Suns closed in 1992 Dell became a fish salesman for a seafood wholesaler and also as full-time secretary-manager of Kedron Football Club in the QAFL.
In 1994 he was editor of the Proserpine Guardian which won the Queensland Country Press Association "most improved newspaper" award.
Dell joined the Townsville Bulletin as a general sub-editor in late 1994 and became Racing Editor in 1995-96.
After remarrying in 1997 he retired and travelled with his wife down the east coast of Australia and spent some time working as a casual on newspapers in Queensland before moving to Tasmania for three years before returning to Townsville.
The father of four sons who are involved in the building industry, overcame throat cancer in 2020 and for the past two years has been writing racing stories for the Queensland Racing website.
He is keenly looking forward to his return to Horsham for the Cup.