Pakenham racehorse trainer Ray ‘Darby’ Webster was held in such high regard that when he died in 1970, it was front page news in the Gazette.
He had given the town one of its proudest sporting moments, saddling up Dark Felt to win the Melbourne Cup in 1943.
Darby also won a Caulfield Cup with Counsel and many other major races on the Australian calendar.
When he retired from training in 1962, the VRC conferred upon him a rare honour by presenting him with an honorary trainer’s badge.
The son of a local butcher, Darby was born in Pakenham and lived most of his 75 years in town, apart from a brief stint in Essendon to further his training career.
The Webster property was known as Dakwood, after his 1938 Grand National winner, which was owned by members of the Bourke family, who were also so integral to the success of racing in Pakenham.
He had great success with another Bourke horse Kanuri, which raised the roof of the grandstand by winning the Pakenham Cup, with champion jockey Harold Badger aboard, in 1937.
Led by the Bourkes, the Pakenham Racing Club was always at the forefront of the industry, one of the first country clubs to have races telecast, the first to use starting stalls and the first club to race for decimal currency.
That trend has continued in more recent years as the club moved from its Racecourse Road site to a world class venue at Tynong.
– Garry Howe
