Vale John Murdoch

The Cranbourne Harness Racing Club community is mourning the passing of past President John Murdoch who lost his long battle with cancer at the weekend.

John was President of the club from 1997 to 2003 and was instrumental in the creation of the Trios Sports Club as a joint venture enterprise between the three resident race clubs on the precinct.

“John was a very astute businessman and his oversight of the development of Trios has left a lasting legacy for the Cranbourne Harness Racing Club,” said current President David Scott.

“Over the past decade, our Club has invested substantially in the redevelopment of both our oncourse patron facilities and our race day horse stalls.  And the building of our Training Centre has been pivotal in our efforts to create and maintain a sustainable future for the Cranbourne Club.”

“Those investments have been made possible by our access to a funding stream outside of our racing operations and to that end, we will forever be indebted to John.”

John was also an enthusiastic owner and enjoyed considerable success on the track with a number of horses raced in partnership with fellow Cranbourne Committeeman Ray Ladd. The pair raced Eastburn Grant, Indisputable and the Redwood winner Storm Blazer all from the local Noel Alexander and Jayne Davies barn.

More recently, John joined great mates Bill Hutchison and Rob Molloy as part of the “Cranbourne Crew” who raced the 2016 Australian 3yo Trotter of the Year, Cruisin Around.

John is survived by his wife Margrit and Jane and Haydn and their extended families.

by Mick Floyd for Harness Racing Victoria