By Jordan Gerrans
The privilege and opportunity to watch the champion horses over the last 50 years drove respected steward John Hackett to get out of bed every morning.
There was not an aspect of the three racing codes the Warwick product did not have his fingerprints on at some stage, working across trots, thoroughbreds and greyhounds in his extensive career.
He has recently called time on his career as a steward, stepping away to retire to northern NSW, with an aim to fill in his days fishing, playing lawn bowls and maybe heading to the Grafton races every now and again.
Hackett devoted almost his entire life in the workforce to racing and integrity, originally starting out in the public service in the early 1970’s – that was swiftly replaced with a job as a cadet harness steward, which kick-started his almost five-decade long career in the game.
In his time in racing, Hackett was a chief steward at the trots, deputy chief steward for the thoroughbred code and in the years before his official retirement, he worked with the Integrity Regulation Unit for QRIC.
It all started in the Southern Downs Region for Hackett, his uncle was a hobby trainer, Les Noye, which gave him his first taste of the racing game.
The now 66-year-old recalls the cold winter mornings down at the stables before heading to school, cutting his teeth as he strapped horses for his uncle, going to the races at a very young age.
“That was the push along I needed to get involved in racing,” Hackett reflected this week.
One of Hackett’s earliest and fondest memories of being at the races was Australian Racing Hall of Fame member Tulloch claiming the Brisbane Cup in June of 1961 at Eagle Farm.
“I was only a nipper back then … I remember my father dressed me up in a suit and a hat,” Hackett said.
“That was one of my first memories of being at the races.
“We went on the Saturday morning before the Cup, as it was traditionally on Monday in those days, and it was a massive crowd.
“My uncle, father and I, we went to track work at Eagle Farm in the early morning, it was still dark, and Tulloch sprinted up to blow his wind out up the straight.”
Watching a champion like Tulloch win the Brisbane Cup as a kid did not give Hackett the racing bug, he already had it after all those mornings at the stables.
After leaving Warwick in 1970, Hackett quickly became a cadet steward in the trots, eventually becoming the deputy chairman of stewards for a period of 13 years – 22 all up in harness in that stint.
He crossed over to the gallops for a lengthy stint before having his first crack at retirement in 2010.
That lasted about six months as he was quickly bored and did not like sitting at home when it was raining so he was back on the tools.
Hackett started with casual work with the trots and then eventually worked himself back into a full-time role, splitting his time between pacers and greyhounds.
In 2015, it was time for another stint with the thoroughbreds, becoming a permanent part-time and casual QRIC steward.
After almost half a century as a steward and looking ahead to a permanent retirement, Hackett says he had three great mentors: Jack Greigg, Alan Pearson and Darryl Kays.
“They had a big influence on me going in the right direction and put me on the path for racing to be a lifetime career,” he said.
“They were wonderful mentors and great to work with.”
Following Hackett’s recent retirement, Albion Park chairman Brad Steele says the former steward was respected within the code and more broadly within racing in the Sunshine State.
“All my dealings with John, I have always found him to be a firm but fair person to deal with,” Steele said.
“Generally speaking, I believe that would be a view shared across the harness racing industry in Queensland.”
A recent race at Albion Park was named the “Happy Retirement John Hackett Pace” to help celebrate his contribution to the code.
Reflecting on his time as a steward, Hackett says he enjoyed a strong working relationship with the vast majority of participants he dealt with.
“The participants in the racing industry in Queensland, they are doing the utmost best to look after and nurture the industry,” Hackett said.
“There is only a small minority that will try and find ways to get around certain situations.
“From an integrity perspective as a steward, it is the minority that gives the stewards the most angst – it is certainly not the majority.
“The majority of the people work with you and do the best, they abide with you.
“With the way racing is going in Queensland, we will never be as big as NSW or Victoria, but on a pro rata basis on population, I think we are doing very well.”
QRIC Chief Harness Steward David Farquharson said Hackett’s experience in racing regulation over the past 40 years is hard to match.
"He was regarded as a tough Steward, but to many who attended race meetings on a regular basis, he was firm but fair and treated everyone equally and that included Stewards," Farquharson said.
"I’ve often said young Stewards should take the best qualities they identify in other Stewards for their own progression, and in John Hackett there was a lot to take in.
"He conducted inquiries in an authoritative manner and knew his subject matter extremely well.
"He could read a race and argue a case as well as anyone and his representation at judicial hearings was outstanding.
"As a panel member, he was a great contributor and was a colourful character with many stories to keep us entertained.
"Top Stewards like John Hackett are hard to replace, however we are thankful he has left enough influence and passed on the skills for race meetings to be regulated fairly."
He would not change his journey for the world, Hackett declared.
Being able to go to work almost every day and watch stand out athletes, across all three codes, was a highlight.
“I have certainly enjoyed it, the last few weeks when I haven’t been at work, you do keep thinking about it,” Hackett said.
“I would not change what has happened over my career.
“The special thing is seeing great horses, with the harness, I saw some of the best coming through, Koala King, Hondo Grattan, some of the very best, I was lucky – going to the Inter Dominions and things like that over the years.
“And, in the gallopers, horses like Winx and Black Caviar and like Tulloch when I first started.
“Those horses gave you a real buzz – they made you get out of bed and want to go to the races.”
JOHN HACKETT
- Left Warwick in 1970 and became a cadet steward in the harness industry a few years later.
- Spent 22 years in harness, 13 of which were as deputy chairman of stewards as well as becoming chairman for an interim period.
- Moved over to gallopers as a senior steward in the middle of the 1990's, where he spent over two decades.
- Retired for the first time in 2010 but was back working as a steward within six months, working across harness and greyhounds.
- In 2015, Hackett moved across to working with QRIC in the Integrity Regulation Unit and has recently decided to retire.