Warwick Turf Club duo weathers the storm for recovery recognition

By Andrew Smith

From a friendship forged on the football field, to tackling adversity after a freak storm ripped apart the Warwick Turf Club – Eric Standing and John Gillott are the ultimate teammates.

The local stalwarts are the latest recipients of Racing Queensland’s Cheer A Volunteer award.

Standing, 76, has been the Warwick president since 2023, while Gillott, 72, is also on the committee and a Life Member, having been involved with the Darling Downs-based club for three decades.

The duo have been part of the of the club’s fabric for years, attending the racecourse daily to help with maintenance and setting up the venue for race meetings.

It was a friendship that stemmed from their days playing together for the Warwick Collegians Dragons that saw the former teammates reunite at the race club.

“Eric and I are good mates - we played football together many years ago, and Eric came on to the committee, and I was in charge of maintenance and that sort of thing at that time,” Gillott recalls.

“And I said, "Well, you're coming with me mate.’

“We just work well together - there's no arguments, no-one's the boss, we just get in and get things done.

“I'm retired, and if I was at home, I'd be a blooming nuisance - I've been involved in quite a few clubs around the town, and I just love helping the community.”

Standing was used to spending lengthy periods alone while driving a tanker truck for almost 50 years, but testified to the benefits that came with working alongside his old footy mate.

“When I retired, I was looking for something to do, and the club said, "why don't you come over to the turf club and we’ll find something for you?’” Standing said.

“So I did a bit of lawn mowing, maintenance, anything that's going.

“John’s the supervisor - we just work together and we know what's got to be done, and we just go for it.

“We talk a lot of rubbish and carry on, but the work is the first thing and away we go.

“When 5 o’clock comes, we sit down, have a couple of beers, look at the list, and have a talk about what we’ve achieved for the day…he’s a great bloke to work with.”

While they play an invaluable role, it was their efforts in helping get the club back on its feet following the storm on November 26, 2025, that stand above the rest.

The Allman Park venue was right in the firing line for around 15-20 seconds of a storm that included wind gusts of 165km/h that evening, leaving a path of destruction through the small town.

Standing recalled how he received a call from the club’s Chief Operating Officer Kristen Doyle that rammed home the full impact of the weather event.

“Kristen rang me at about half-past eight that night, and she said ‘the clubhouse is gone,’” Standing said.

“So over we came, and we could see there was more than the clubhouse gone, the big shed was gone too.

“Four hundred metres of running rail went missing - still to this day, we haven't found it.

“A lot of it was knocked over, we had to stand it up.”

Gillott also described the shock at seeing the devastating impact the storm had had on his beloved club.

“We had the roof that went off the main clubhouse, it was gone and there was water damage inside,” Gillott recalls.

“Various panels of fencing were knocked down on the outside, we had to reinstate those in the tie-up area there, and there were rails down and fences down.

“That was besides the machinery shed disappearing, and in the betting ring, it was wrecked.

“There was you roofs off the toilet, and it was off some of the tie-ups too…it was devastation.”

The club had been due to race two days later on November 28 but were forced to abandon their meeting due to the extensive damage to the facilities.

There were also serious doubts about whether the annual Boxing Day race meet would go ahead, with the day normally attracting thousands enjoying the festive season.

Rather than let the setback dull their spirits, Standing and Gillott banded together to lead a team of volunteers who got to work on beginning the mammoth clean-up.

Students from the local high school were also enlisted to help put the running rail back in place, while a bookmaker even made the trek from the Gold Coast to assist with the repairs.

Doyle said the duo were unstoppable in their quest to get the venue ready for racing again.

“They were here the next morning, ready to start work to get things back to normal,” Doyle said.

“It was a long and tiring process with insurance, but they were here every day, and they both had a ‘get in and get it done’ attitude.

“I’ll tell you the truth, I had tears and I know a lot of other people had tears.

“It was very traumatic, and we got there in the end, but I couldn't have done it without them.”

With the financial assistance of Racing Queensland, the club pulled off a Christmas miracle and were able to hold their Boxing Day meeting.

For Standing and Gillott, it was a feeling of deep satisfaction seeing a 1000-strong crowd enjoying a day at the track after the devastation of just over a month earlier.

“The feeling to have it done was excellent, and the feedback we got was excellent too,” Standing said.

“The mess that the place was in - how we got it up and running in six weeks, people couldn't believe it.

“I've got to give a lot of thanks to the volunteers, a lot of them still work and they have farms and couldn’t get here during the day but would come in after work.

Gillott added: “It was tremendous – we operated with obviously less than what we could, we didn't have anything open in the members.

“We operated from up in our old public bar and our pavilion down here, and we looked after every patron that was here.

“The feedback that we got from where we come from to where we ended up on that day was tremendous.”

In addition to their recovery efforts, Standing and Gillott also assisted with the setup and delivery of events at the club’s function venue which was unaffected by the storm.

It enabled the club to continue generating revenue and supporting the broader community, despite not being able to host a race meeting.

It was that feedback and work ethic that prompted Doyle to nominate the duo for the Cheer A Volunteer Award.

“They're both my go-to's - I regularly call upon them to do little bits and pieces to the massive jobs of installing fencing and repairs,” Doyle said.

“Yes we've got full-time staff, who are also awesome, but these guys are volunteers who were here from 8.30 to 5 o'clock every day.

“I think I have broken their bodies, not me personally, but yes, they get in and get it done, they're always positive.

“I like to think of myself sometimes as a big part of the Warwick Turf Club, and without them, I don't know how well the place would run.

“I rely on them for their knowledge, their leadership, and of course, the other volunteers, and committee are brilliant, but these guys are here every day, and they keep this place running.”

A temporary roof is still being used for the clubhouse for the moment, while the club is keen to build bigger facilities to host the growing numbers of jockeys and trainers attending race days.

As for Standing and Gillott, they believe the future of the club is in good hands with Doyle, while encouraging more volunteers to sign up and enjoy the camaraderie that comes with it.

“I can't thank Kristen highly enough for what she has done since I've been here for the club,” Standing said.

“What she does for this club is unbelievable, especially the help she has given me since I took over as president.

“You get the friendship that you make while you're here, the enjoyment and the camaraderie.

“I knew nothing about racing until I came here - I still don't – but I'm learning quick, so come along and join in and as many volunteers we get, the better.”

Gillott added: “You get mateship and companionship, and you meet new people, we’ve got a couple of new members onto our committee this year, and they're going great.

“We always set up before the races and after the races we pull everything down, and you don't have to be on the committee, it’s just volunteering.

“Then at the end of it, everyone has a yarn, or we'll have a beer, or whatever it might be, and especially if you're retired and got some time on your hands, or if you're still working, come along.”

Clubs are encouraged to nominate their valued volunteers for the award, which is sponsored by Mittys.

State-wide, there are more than 8,300 volunteers who make an invaluable contribution to the industry, providing their time and expertise to sustain Queensland’s three codes of racing.

Click here for more information on Cheer A Volunteer and to nominate.