Colin and Lyn Brown after the win of Joelene at Gloucester Park Photo by Hamilton Content Creators
With his win at Gloucester Park last night behind the red hot favourite Joelene, champion reinsman Colin Brown brought up his 3000th winner in a 45 year driving career.
Joelene was his 1532nd winner in Perth and 421st training success in the Perth.
Only Chris Lewis and Gary Hall Jnr have driven more winners than Brown while Fred Kersley and Trevor Warwick are the only other Western Australians to have passed the 2000 career wins milestone.
Of that elite quintet Brown is the only one yet to be inducted into The West Australian Racing Industry Hall of Fame.
He is also the only driver in the State to have driven in excess of 2000 winners as a freelance driver for other trainers AND to have also trained more than 500 winners while he is approaching the 900 winners mark as a trainer.
Brown drove his first winner on 9th October 1976 at the now defunct York track behind a gelding called Go To It which was trained by Brown’s mentor Jim Schrader.
His first Perth winner came at Richmond Raceway behind Esteral Lass on 19th August 1977. Coincidentally the Fremantle circuit is also now defunct.
Schrader never rushed to careers of aspiring young reinsmen and both Brown and Schrader’s son Peter went through three six-month Reinsman’s Schools before they were allowed to apply for their country licence.
“It was a lot harder then than it is now. At that time drivers were allowed to push out at anytime in races and there were a host of old-time hard-school drivers out there and they were very good at driving on the margin”, Brown said.
“It was almost impossible to hold your position when the likes of a Jim Schrader or Alan Woodworth decided that they wanted to get away from the rails”, he added.
