Gunny's got new dunnies

Gunbower Racing Club is riding a wave of success as it plans for, and invests, in the future of this proud 145-year-old bush tradition.

Its annual Moama Bowling Club Gunbower Gold Cup meeting each October is one of Victorian country racing’s signature events, pulling ever increasing crowds.

Now, to make sure it remains at the cutting edge of the industry, $68,500 has been spent on significant upgrades which better reflect racing for a club staging events in its third century.

GRC president Vicky McGillivray says one of the biggest changes she has seen in racing is the number of female jockeys.

Vicky says at the 2025 Gold Cup almost half the jockeys were women.

And says that’s something no-one would have believed in 1982, when the club’s existing jockey rooms and administration building were first built.

“Because of that the female jockeys coming here to ride have been accommodated in a temporary marquee beside the building as there was nowhere near enough space in the existing jockey/admin building,” Vicky explains.

“Now we have not only been able to modernise the men’s rooms, we have created double the space inside the main building at the track for the women, including extra toilet and shower facilities,” she says.

“A major project for us which was part funded by the Victorian Government Office of Racing, Racing Victoria and Country Racing Victoria with the rest of the money raised by the club.

“It would not surprise me at all in the next few years to see more women than men riding here so we want to make sure when they come to Gunbower they know they are being looked after.”

Vicky says the latest spending spree by the club has also seen the creation of more practical space for the administrative office and the stewards’ room.

She says the end result will serve the club well for the next stage of its growth.

“That a little grassroots enterprise such as ours is able to attract funding to do vital work necessary to remain attractive to all stakeholders shows a lot of confidence in our club and our race day and we thank everyone for that support, it means so much to Gunbower and everyone connected with country racing.”