Ray Herbert & Byamee First In To GRV Hall Of Fame

Greyhound [GRV] will launch its at a function to be held at Sandown Park on 12th July 2009, and today they have released the names of two of the 36 inductees – the late , a champion trainer of the 1920's-60's, and his outstanding greyhound Byamee.

Ray Herbert (Pioneer) – Trainer

Ray Herbert trained greyhounds from the mid 1920's until the 1960's and was widely acknowledged as the master trainer of his time. Described as a shy and gentle man, Herbert, of Diamond Creek, was a father of three and his eldest son Robin often handled his greyhounds at race meetings.

was a huge part of greyhound racing in Herbert's era, and among his achievements were a record 10 Waterloo Cups, which was and still is the pinnacle race on the coursing calendar.

“Dad was comparable to the likes of Bart Cummings in . He knew how to get his dogs up for the big races and he had the gift of the gab”, said Robin Herbert, who left school at 14 to help his dad with his greyhounds.

“Dad won the Waterloo Cup many times in the days when it was a huge event. Hundreds of people would go to the Waterloo Cup, which was held at a different country track each year. There were always a big number of bookmakers there. Dad also won the with a greyhound called Yarloop”, Robin added.

Not only did Ray Herbert have a knack with greyhounds, but with animals in general. In conjunction with training greyhounds Herbert was also a renowned greyhound breeder and studmaster, as well as a dairy farmer.

“When dad was only 16 he entered a chook he owned in an egg laying contest and won”, Robin said before reflecting on his father's winning ways as a greyhound trainer. “He knew how to feed an animal. He'd make a broth out of lamb and would pour it over Weetbix.

And he'd let his pups drink bucket loads of milk from his cows”, Robin recalled.

Herbert's training methods involved a lot of walking of his dogs, as well as swimming and galloping them.

“He always had about five or six race dogs at a time, but if you include pups and stud dogs we probably had about 50 dogs on the property”, Robin said.

“We'd do a lot of walking along the nearby gravel roads in Diamond Creek.

But on days when we felt weary we'd walk them behind the back of dad's Ute. There'd be three of us – dad, myself and dad's first cousin Claude Wilson, who worked for dad. Two of us would hold about six dogs each on a lead while the other would slowly drive the ute.

When we did this it wasn't just the race dogs that came along, it was also the stud dogs, while the pups would gallop along behind us off lead.”

“Dad never over raced his dogs and he didn't work them every day, but we would take them to a paddock in Yan Yean about once a week and let them gallop as part of their training regime. We also had a big dam and would give the dogs a lot of swimming.”

Robin remembers life on the farm being particularly hectic.

“Dad worked all the time. He was a quiet man who was very dedicated to his greyhounds and was very methodical. We raced his dogs as much as four times a week at different tracks across Victoria. The only break he really got was when he'd have about 10 days off at around Christmas time each year and take us all to the beach”, Robin said.

Despite learning so much about greyhound racing from his dad as a youngster, Robin got out of the sport at a relatively young age.

“I got out of greyhound racing when I was 25, about a year before dad died and worked in the cattle industry. I've made a career out of farming, but in a way I regret not staying in greyhound racing. I guess the main reason I got out of it was because I knew from working with dad what a big commitment it was”, he said.

Ray Herbert's youngest child Denis was only 10 when his father died, and any aspirations he may have had of following in his legendary father's greyhound training footsteps were put to pasture very early on.

“I was suffering from a lot of serious allergies as a young kid including rashes and severe asthma, and it wasn't until I was six or seven years old that we realised it all came about because I was allergic to dog hair”, Denis recalled with a laugh.

“Dad had a pair of overalls he used to wear all the time while working on his dogs and he would leave them hanging up in the bathroom. But once we discovered my allergy to dog hair he stopped doing that and I wasn't allowed to watch him work on his greyhounds anymore in case I got too close”.

Denis has maintained a keen interest in his family's history, in particular the feats of his dad.

“Dad wasn't aboriginal but after he died I discovered that he had named a lot of his greyhounds based on aboriginal words, such as Karween and a few others including his champion coursing dog Byamee, which means ‘Godly'. I know this because I've kept his 1946 encyclopaedia, from which he got the names from”, Denis said.

Ray Herbert passed away on April 20, 1963 aged 61; incidentally on Denis' 10th birthday.

Ray Heberts Notabkle Acheivements

  • Won 1927 – ORION
  • Runner-Up 1929 Victorian Waterloo Cup – ORION
  • Won 1928 Victorian Derby – SOME LADDIE
  • Won 1929 Victorian Waterloo Cup – ORION
  • Won 1938 NSW Waterloo Cup – VERACIOUS
  • Won 1939 Victorian Waterloo Cup – SILVER CHIEF
  • Won 1948 NSW Oaks – KARWEEN
  • Won 1949 Victorian Waterloo Cup – TARRYHERE
  • Won 1949 NSW Oaks – OKERE
  • Runner-Up 1949 NSW Waterloo Cup – TARRYHERE
  • Won 1950 NSW Waterloo Cup – KARWEEN
  • Won 1951 NSW Oaks – BIRRAHLEE JOY
  • Won 1953-1954-1955 Victorian Waterloo Cup – BYAMEE
  • Won 1953 St. Leger – BYAMEE
  • Won 1945 Melbourne Cup – YARLOOP

Byamee (Pioneer) – Coursing

Byamee was bred and trained in Diamond Creek by Ray Herbert and is regarded by many of the elder generation as the best coursing greyhound of all time. He won his first Waterloo Cup in 1953 at only 22 months of age after being ill in the lead up to the series.

“I remember Byamee's kennel name was Tim and he was a ripper of a racedog”, said Ray's son, Robin Herbert.

Byamee was sired by Yarloop out of Tarryhere, both of whom were top class racers that were trained by Herbert.

“Dad always had great box dogs [fast beginners] and Byamee was no exception. He was unlucky in a heat of the Melbourne Cup when he got caught in the boxes and was thrown up in the air. He still made up plenty of ground that day. That was the only time I can him being beaten. He won a lot of races and was so good he led a lot of his races by as much as 20 and 30 lengths”, Robin added.

Byamee spent time at stud on Ray Herbert's Diamond Creek property, with his bloodlines clicking particularly well with brood matrons from South Australia.

Byamee's Notable Acheivements

  • Won 1953 Victorian Waterloo Cup
  • Won 1953 Victorian Coursing St Leger
  • Won 1954 Victorian Waterloo Cup
  • Won 1955 Victorian Waterloo Cup

The 36 Hall of Fame inductees are in three broad categories:

  • The Pioneers (8) – recognised by the selection committee as having shaped greyhound racing's early days.
  • The People (15) – includes trainers, breeders, owners, administrators and other prominent personalities.
  • The Greyhounds (13) – includes achievements on the racetrack and at stud.

To coincide with the Hall of Fame function, an official industry Hall of Fame website will also be launched on July 12.

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