Years involved in industry: 50
Category: Trainer
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 1966 Sunkist Cup
- 1973 Silver Chief
- 1974 Sapphire Classic
- 1986 New Star Classic
- 1987 Bendigo Cup
- 1987 Horsham Cup
- 1987 CUB Cup
- 1989 Horsham Cup
- 1993 Gleeson & Tonta
- 1994 McRae Honda
- 1995 Dapto 100,000
- 2003 Bulli Gold Cup
- 2003 Healesville Cup
- 2006 Devonport Cup
- 15 years on GOTBA Committee
- Regular speaker at seminars in the 1980s
The late Alec Reid was a man with many strings to his bow, including an extraordinary career training greyhounds for a period spanning 50 years.
Reid wound back his involvement in greyhound racing in the years before he passed away in April 2013, however he left the world as one of the most respected greyhound trainers in Victoria’s rich history.
After beginning his training career in Williamstown, Reid made a name for himself training winners from the seaside Melbourne suburb of Altona, before moving to Seymour in his final years.
Such was Reid’s knowledge and expertise with the greyhound breed, that many of his peers would sought him to ‘check over’ their greyhounds in search for soreness and injuries.
“Greyhound people are a different breed. They stick together and help one another, and I’m the same,” Reid said when inducted into GRV’s Hall of Fame in February 2013.
“I’ve checked over hundreds of greyhounds for people over the years and I never charged anyone because I just love greyhounds and I love the people in the sport.”
Close friend Ray Drake recalls the days when Reid was one of the most successful greyhound trainers in Australia.
“Alec was a strict disciplinarian,” Drake said.
“He had as many as 20 greyhounds at a time when he was living in Altona. He loved his greyhounds and they loved him. His race dogs were so disciplined that there was no barking and no jumping up. His neighbours would have had little idea he had that many dogs.”
“Alec got his first greyhound in 1962 when he was living with his mum and stepfather in Williamstown. It was a giveaway called Can Dash, which I remember because he kept it in my garage for a short time while he was setting up his kennels at his mum’s place,” Drake said.
Reid has trained a number of top class greyhounds over the years, and he was well known for getting long and competitive racing careers out of his race dogs.
“A lot of Alec’s greyhounds raced for a long time because he always kept up with the latest methods and treatments of greyhound injuries. He had a wealth of knowledge about medications and was a wizard at treating injuries,” Drake said.
“He once trained a dog, called Michael Tana in the 1980s who had 220 starts. The dog wasn’t a superstar, but most of his starts were in town which is quite remarkable,” he said.
Drake revealed some of Reid’s training methods.
“Alec would rarely trial his dogs unless they were young dogs he was educating. His training methods involved walking his dogs in shallow water at Altona back beach and hand slipping them at Werribee’s grass straight track.”