Life membership for Inter Dominion trainer

At last night’s Gloucester Park Harness Racing Annual General Meeting Inter Dominion winning trainer Bill Horn was made a Life Member of the club.

Horn grew up just down the road from Gloucester Park in the suburb of Maylands and one suspects that his love of trots came from his maternal grandfather Lou Calf who trained Fair Boy to win the 1921 New Year Handicap at the WACA track opposite modern day Gloucester Park.

With a grandfather called Calf what else could Bill Horn become but a butcher.

Bill was apprenticed to Fred McGovern who just happened to be a thoroughbred trainer and while Bill was to become WA’s Apprentice Butcher of the Year in 1952 his working days were spent thinking about and talking about horses.

Horn’s visits to Gloucester Park began in 1950 and like so many others the attraction was being able to have a bet.

He still remembers his first visit to Gloucester Park when his mate Jim Kinnear convinced him that his father Arthur’s horse could win and the pair of teenagers took what money they had and headed for the bookies ring.

The horse galloped at the start and took no part and the deflated pair tossed up whether to go to the pictures or to become real punters and chase their money.

They invested all their cash – a total of five shillings – with a place bet on a mare called Miss Copper who managed to get into the money and paid £7/15/- for the place.

The boys caught a Swan Taxi to the pictures and for the first time were able to afford a seat in the lounge area of the movies and more importantly the boys were hooked on trots.

He began training and driving in the early seventies and while Bill soon showed ability as a trainer his driving exploits were limited – let’s just say that as a driver he made a bloody good butcher.

As a trainer Bill has been exceptional with more than 517 winners to his credit and 243 of them At Gloucester Park.

Bill hit the jackpot in the early eighties when he began training a black stallion called Black Irish for Gordon and Cecelia Cox and the combination won an Australian Pacing Championship, Brennan Cup and Stratton Cup.

The night that the Fremantle Trotting Club held an official farewell for Black Irish was the same night that the same connections collected their first trophy with a rangy 4yo gelding called Village Kid.

Bill soon learned that when you are involved with an absolute champion you lose your horse as it becomes the people’s champion.

Bill embraced the media from the time that he first came to prominence through the performances of Black Irish and his personality shone through in a story on Channel Seven that won reporter Mike Van Rens a national media award.

With Village Kid, Bill was back in the spotlight and the Saturday night news regularly featured an interview from Bill’s butcher’s shop where he treated his customers to champagne on the Saturday morning after another Group One win at Gloucester Park.

Bill never lost an opportunity to promote Gloucester Park and used to make a point of inviting his customers to the track to watch Willie. When Village Kid was in his prime the club could guarantee an additional 500 – 1000 backsides on seats.

When Village Kid went east Bill again used every opportunity to promote his home state and his home track of Gloucester Park. With the wisdom of hindsight, the club should probably have appointed him the track’s ambassador.

Mind you Bill probably didn’t win too many fans among breeders when in one famous TV interview he declared with a broad grin “When the blue light goes on their Mum and Dad can’t help them”

He was recognised in 1986, the year he trained Village Kid to victory in the Inter Dominion held in Brisbane, with the presentation of a James Brennan Award for his contribution to harness racing in this State.

At the 2016 Perth Inter Dominion Bill was presented with a Distinguished Service Award for his contribution to the Inter Dominion.

While he has been the public face associated with Black Irish and Village Kid, Bill would be the first to agree that none of his remarkable record would have been possible without the efforts of his wife of 38 years – Norma.

They are a remarkable couple and for more than 30 years they have served dinner to the Rossmoyne Rotary Club meeting every Wednesday night.

Their efforts were recognised earlier this year when they were each made Paul Harris Fellows – the highest award presented by Rotary Clubs across the globe.

Bill’s willingness to take his horse to the beach on a special trip for a news story was evidenced in September when Bob Harnett from Channel Nine was awarded the 2017 Media Feature of the Year by RWWA for a piece that he did on Bill and Heez On Fire competing in last year’s Inter Dominion.

Village Kid became a hero to the children from the Make A Wish Foundation and the horse earned some $5000 for the Foundation with his World Record time trial at Gloucester Park and even more from the proceeds of the book The Village Kid Story.

Bill Horn’s Life Membership of Gloucester Park Harness Racing accurately reflects a lifetime of contribution to not just Gloucester Park but to trotting in this State.

Bill Horn’s humility was reflected in his acceptance speech when, while acknowledging his wife and family, he said “I’ve been very lucky”.

Alan Parker