Racing’s jack of all trades: Geraldton Turf Club chairman Brian O’Dwyer prepares for his 12th Cup day

From humble beginnings in rural NSW as a jackaroo in the early 1960s to now preparing to host his 12th Geraldton Gold Cup as chairman, passion has kept Brian O’Dwyer in the game of racing. He has worked with, ridden, trained and managed horses in his time over his 57-plus years involved in racing, but the Geraldton Turf Club boss still loves the sport. O’Dwyer’s first introduction to horses came as a kid in regional NSW, where he worked alongside them as a jackaroo herding livestock. Curiosity got the better of him in 1962 when he began to ride in smaller regional races, which is where he said he caught the bug. “That was certainly where it all started,” he said. “My love of horses progressed into riding them and it was something I really enjoyed.” In 1964, O’Dwyer decided to expand his horizons with curiosity once again playing its part, and he set his sights for WA, landing just outside of Carnarvon. O’Dwyer moved once again in 1967, this time to Mt Augustus where he worked on a sheep station, soon discovering the Landor races, where his love of the sport was reignited. O’Dwyer was elected to the committee at Landor in 1968, marking the beginning of his committee role in racing. Now, 57 years later, O’Dwyer said he still has the same amount of passion for the sport as he did back then. “Even now I still love the sport and have the time to put into it,” he said. “I absolutely still have a passion for it now.” O’Dwyer was recognised for his efforts at the Landor Race Club with life membership honours in 1985 and is now a patron of the club. In 2007, O’Dwyer headed south to Geraldton, where he discovered the Geraldton Turf Club. O’Dwyer recalls attending a race day when he was asked to join the committee at Geraldton. “I was standing at the fence when two mates of mine asked me to come on board,” he said. “So I did in 2009.” In 2013, after serving as deputy chairman, O’Dwyer was promoted to chairman and has since overseen the past 12 years of the turf club. Over those years, O’Dwyer has facilitated plenty of change to the club, pushing for funding and upgrades to the point where Geraldton is now considered one of the premier regional race clubs in WA. In 2022, O’Dwyer received his second life membership, this time from Geraldton, which reflected the work that went into making the club what it is today. With the Geraldton Gold Cup around the corner next month, O’Dwyer is preparing himself for his 12th Cup day at Geraldton. “It is the marquee event for us here at Geraldton and every year it delivers,” he said. “It is always a great day, lovely surrounds, great racing, trainers from Perth come up for it. “Geraldton Cup is the pinnacle for us and the race day itself has a great reputation of hosting the best trainers, jockeys and horses in regional WA.” O’Dwyer said it also gave local trainers a chance to show off their very best against some impressive Perth trainers each year. “The talent here in terms of trainers and horses is great and the Cup gives them the opportunity to test it out against the likes of Perth trainers,” he said. “I mean look at last year, Geraldton trainer Barry Newnham took it out with What A Prince. “So it is always a great opportunity for locals to show what they have.” The Geraldton Gold Cup, with a prize pool of $125,000, runs on April 6.