An Embarrassment of Riches

Opal Buyers Jostle in the Winner’s Circle

Amateur racing clubs thrived in country NSW during the early 1900s. Unlike the tightly regulated metropolitan tracks, amateur clubs accepted a wider range of weights, ages, and skill, thrilling spectators with predictably unpredictable outcomes. Unpredictability was not confined to the track at Lightning Ridge Amateur Race Club (LRARC). In a curious twist, there were not one but two first prizes for race eight of the Club’s inaugural meeting in 1911. This ‘Additional Prize’ hints at professional rivalry fuelled by the highly competitive opal market.

Formed in early 1911, LRARC secretary J. Mudie and president J. Scott quickly secured the Club a track near Galah Swamp. By mid-year, they’d been granted an official license from the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) and a prime spot in the regional spring racing calendar. Excitement was high, with over fifty horses from around the district ready to compete.

Held over two days in September, the event’s highlight was ‘The Opal Buyer’s Gift Bracelet.’ Local jeweller and opal buyer EF Murphy had won the tender to provide first prize and made a silver bracelet bezel set with black opal cabochons for the winner.

In a surprising twist, Melbourne-based opal buyer JW Samuels made a late-breaking addition to the prize pool, donating this silver trophy as the ‘additional prize.’ Was this a genuine show of generosity or a calculated promotional move? It’s impossible to know, but it certainly raised the stakes and heightened interest in the race.

When race day dawned, ‘Eurool,’ owned by H. Lewis and ridden by H.H. MacDonald, snatched a nail-biting victory from ‘Pedro’ on the home straight in a field of twenty-one. Mrs A.B.J. Francis, Lightning Ridge’s first female opal buyer, presented Murphy’s opal bracelet and Samuels’ ‘additional’ trophy to Lewis.  

The stakes were high on the track, but the multiple prizes had clearly raised eyebrows, with only the ‘principal’ prize being mentioned by some NSW newspapers. While the pair’s rivalry may be a distant memory, their legacy and the spirit of that first meeting live on. A century later, the ‘Opal Bracelet Cup’ is held every Easter by LRARC.