Club Spotlight: Home Hill

By Jordan Gerrans

When the topic of racing in the Burdekin comes up, so will the last name Tapiolas.

Many a trainer have come and gone over the generations in Home Hill and the surrounding areas, but what has stood the test of time has been the Tapiolas family training at the north Queensland club.

It started way back in the 1950s with Peter Tapiolas, who eventually passed the baton to his son Ray, still training to this day, with his son – Chris – giving him a hand down at their barn every morning.

There has been countless other Tapiolas’ over the journey involved, weather it be training, riding, owning, or working as an administrator, but regardless of time over the last 60 or so years – the Tapiolas name is synonymous with racing in the region.

“When you talk about racing around the Burdekin, people always talk about the Tapiolas’, that is for sure,” current Burdekin Race Club president Ricky Gudge said.

Ray recalls that he first took out his licence when his father, a Townsville Cup winner as a trainer, got on in age.

“My dad started it off when he first got married in the 1950s,” Ray remembers.

“He trained in a partnership and they got doubles nearly every time Home Hill raced.

“He won a lot in Townsville and at one stage in the 1970s, he ran top three in the Townsville trainers premiership with just two horses.

“That is how good those horses were.

“He won a Townsville Cup in 1975 with a horse called Namdrae.”

The name Peter Tapiolas will forever be remembered at the track with the clubs day stalls named after him.

On top of those accolades, Peter claimed the local town Home Hill Cup in 1982 with Stella's Son.

Still to this day around the Burdekin, Gudge says people still talk about the win of Namdrae in the Cup all those years ago.

While Peter would go on to achieve great feats on his home track, as well as Cluden Park and surrounding race clubs, he was not always a top horseman, as his son recounts.

“When he first got married, he was bored and wanted a hobby or something to do so mates of his took him out fishing out on a boat,” Ray recalled.

“He got seasick.

“He said no more boats for me and he was introduced to the racing not long after and he was in it ever since.

“Even when he was sick in the hospital, he would ask me how the horses were going.

“I always told him that races are much harder to win now compared to when he was training.”

Those in Burdekin can recall the days - as recent as the 1980s - when there was a dozen trainers and jockeys based in the town and when they raced 13 times a year, once a month, as well as the coveted Melbourne Cup day meeting.

In 2021, it is just Rod Cussons, Ray Tapiolas and Gudge who have their stables at Home Hill.

Despite the lowering number of race days and trainers at the Club, one of their great success stories is in the famous "Burdekin Growers Day".

Burdekin Growers Day is the Burdekin’s premier annual social event, which celebrates racing, fashion, mega prize draws, super bets, five event local horse racing program, boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables to give away and live entertainment.

It was first held back in 1999 and the current club president continues to be blown away with how popular the day has become, headlined by a bumper crowd earlier this year.

“It has just gone from strength to strength as a day, we are over 20 years doing it now,” Gudge said.

“This year it caught us off guard how big a day it was for the community, with COVID knocking out last year for us and us losing the day.

“This year it was a huge day with a massive crowd.

“It is great for the area.”

Like Peter Tapiolas, Gudge came from an unusual background to find his way to becoming a local trainer and racing administrator.

He was an interesting racing fan through punting, before becoming an owner some time later, then taking on a bigger role at the club as president and now training in his own right.

Gudge, who has also spent time living and working in Mount Isa during his life, is joined on Burdekin’s committee by his wife, Leanne, who takes on the job as treasurer and secretary.

The 58-year-old Gudge is determined to add young new blood to the club’s committee in the coming years to ensure the track’s longevity.

It is his objective, Gudge says, to bring new people to the races with fresh ideas as well as opening doors for new audiences to become part of the racing industry.

Much of the current Burdekin committee are “racing people”, either as owners or trainers around the north.

“It is good, a great place to train at with great friendly people, we have a good committee,” Tapiolas said.

Gudge would love for his club to land a TAB race day while he is at the helm and will continue to push for his club to be showcased on the national platform.

Home Hill races five times a year with the Club’s president declaring they could happily take on more if they were offered.

The Tapiolas team currently have two horses in work at Home Hill, regularly making the long drive to Townsville to get them worked with a lack of track work riders in the Burdekin.

As well as training, Ray Tapiolas and his wife both spent at least a decade each as secretary and president for the Club.

According to Tapiolas, the Home Hill club created some history in north Queensland as well.

“We were the first club up here to start off racing on Melbourne Cup day and now we have lost it, every other club wants it,” Tapiolas said.

“At the time people were saying 'you guys are bloody mad for wanting to race locally on Melbourne Cup day', but it grew and grew, every clubs wants to do it now.

“Ingham and Home Hill were racing on Melbourne Cup day then everyone jumped on.”

The picturesque Home Hill racetrack has a cricket pitch and outfield, as well as a tennis club, in the middle of the track.

Club spotlight will be a regular feature that shines a light on the unique and individual racing clubs across Queensland