Flemington remembers Ron King – an effective and affable VRC administrator

92 years of age, Ron was formerly Flemington Track Manager and General Manager Operations, VRC in an era when racing administrators were served – straight up.

Along with the likes of David Bourke, Rod Johnson, Brian Beattie and Pat Lalor, Ron was part of an era where their word was oak. And could be always relied on. But that’s not to say his judgment wasn’t tested.

None more so than on 1993 Melbourne Cup Day when the heavens opened overnight at Flemington. Administrators were placed under enormous pressure to postpone the meeting with flooding apparent in the horse stall area, Flemington car-parks and nearby surrounding streets. The Maribyrnong River had reached capacity.

It would be Ron King, Rod Johnson and Pat Lalor that would walk the Flemington track at 7am race morning.

But while surrounding areas were under water King advised the track was safe to race. After further consultation with VRC Chairman, David Bourke, that’s what they did – and the Irish contingent of Vintage Crop, Dermot Weld and Mick Kinane, changed the Melbourne Cup race forever. It would be the first time an overseas-trained horse would win the Cup on a ‘fly-in-fly-out’ basis.  

Ron King was from a racing family, the son of Bas King, a well-known Flemington-based racehorse trainer. He grew up locally and was educated at Essendon Grammar. It would be ironic that King would spend most of his working life living on the actual Flemington Racecourse. A perk at the time of the track manager position.

He started at the VRC in 1952 as a junior clerk. He would be appointed assistant track manager in 1965 and work under Bill Mitchell for three years before taking on the role of Track Manager in 1968. He would hold this position until 1996 until being appointed General Manager, Operations. He worked for the VRC for 48 years before retiring on 31^st January, 2000.

Ron was a true family man and engulfed himself in family life and other sporting pursuits, namely the VFL/AFL as well as Rotary. He was Vice-President of the Footscray Football Club (Western Bulldogs) and a one-time chairman of North Melbourne Rotary.

Ron King had his own style commanding respect in every circle he moved. As former VRC and Racing Victoria CEO, Brian Beattie said on the day of Ron’s service, ‘He had a way of getting people to do things without ever having to get worked up.’ A truly admirable trait.

Ron was awarded Life Membership upon retirement from the VRC and established many friends in and outside of racing. He had three children; Susan, Jennifer and Peter. His wife Denise passed away only twelve months earlier.