A MISSING 100-year-old racebook was the only downside from last week’s historic Zed Cup meeting at the Gawler & Barossa Jockey Club.
Donated by the somewhat mysterious Vincent Zed 100 years ago, the Zed Cup was on display at last Wednesday’s meeting, along with some other vintage memorabilia, including an original racebook from the 1920 meeting.
“The day was fantastic overall, but it looks like someone’s picked up that racebook from 100 years ago,” club CEO Shane Collins said.
“We had it on a table with some old memorabilia stuff, along with a sign saying ‘please don’t touch’.”
Mr Collins said the club may have unwittingly played a role in the racebook’s disappearance.
“We made a heap of replica racebooks,” he said.
“We put a replica book on everyone’s table to take home and during the day we had probably six or eight people come ask for extra ones, because they really wanted one.
“Maybe someone’s walked past and said ‘there’s one of those books’ and picked it up, and taken it home.”
Upon learning the racebook was missing, the club reached out to its members, hoping to recover the item.
“Yeah, we sent a text out to our members, but there were a lot of other people there too; guests, different friends and whatever,” Mr Collin said.
“We’ve had no positive responses yet.”
The racebook can be returned to the Gawler & Barossa Jockey Club (phone 8522 1801).
Meanwhile Drop the Orange’s win in last Wednesday’s 2020 Zed Cup-100 Years On race sparked more details about the original event’s founder, thanks to Drop the Orange’s trainer, Oakbank-based Barry Brook.
“Funnily enough, some of his owners who were there on the day come from the South East and they mentioned to me that there’s a store in Mount Gambier called the Zed Store, owned by the Zed family,” Mr Collins said.
“I said the only thing I could find out about this Vincent Zed is that he left the region and moved to Mount Gambier.
“They said the name of the gentleman who started the store many years ago was Vinny. And I said, ‘That has to be him’.”
The club will host its next meeting on Wednesday, August 19.