Kevin and Bonnie McNamara
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: KEVIN AND BONNIE MCNAMARA
CATEGORY: GREYHOUND EDUCATORS
By Peter Quilty
Majorca ‘greyhound educators’ Kevin and Bonnie McNamara were inducted into Victorian Greyhound Racing’s Hall of Fame at the 2023 Victorian Greyhound Awards.
The husband-and-wife team have been educating greyhounds in preparation for racing at their ‘Keyon Kennels’ operation for 50 years and are conservatively estimated to have educated 45,000 greyhounds.
The catalyst behind such longevity and overall contribution to the Victorian greyhound racing industry occurred in 1971/72.
While travelling around in Australia, Kevin and Bonnie dropped in on a friend, Frank Moody, who operated boarding kennels and had greyhounds in Nowra, NSW.
It was purely impromptu, but Kevin ‘educated’ two greyhounds for his mate.
When they returned to Victoria, the McNamaras both worked two jobs to save enough for a deposit to purchase a 15.5-acre property in 1973, comprising only an old house and a shearing shed, in Majorca.
Built from scratch as a greyhound educational facility, it would become well-respected in the industry as ‘Keyon Kennels’.
It’s believed the McNamaras have educated around 15 Australian Cup winners and 15 Melbourne Cup winners (including their first, Lady Lilly in 1983).
And for a period of at least 20 years, they were educating 120 young greyhounds per month.
Some of their ‘A+ students’ include the immortal Brett Lee, Betty’s Angel, My Redeemer and Koblenz.
Other ‘duxes’ include Spread Eagled, Black Opium, Equalizer, Up Hill Jill, Sennachie and Big Daddy Cool.
GRV's Hall of Fame
About GRV’s Hall of Fame: The people and greyhounds inducted into the Victorian greyhound racing Hall Of Fame have been recognised for their excellence, integrity, consistency, longevity, and overall contribution to the industry.
