=IX+PIQMRKXSRǼSYVMWLIHYRHIV2EGOMRRSRƶWPIEHIVWLMT;MXL Henry Byron Moore he masterminded the transformation in 1924 when the Members’ Stand, Birdcage and Mounting Yard were VITSWMXMSRIHJVSQXLIVMZIVWMHI-ISZIVWE[+PIQMRKXSRƶWǻVWX on-course totalizator system in 1930 and guided the Club through the tough Depression years. With the VRC as ‘principal club’ he SZIVWE[GVIEXMSRSJǻZIHMWXVMGXVEGMRKEWWSGMEXMSRWMR:MGXSVMEE lasting reform. After his death the Committee renamed the Melbourne Stakes, the major weight-for-age race on Derby Day, in his honour. It had long been a stepping stone for horses aiming for the Melbourne Cup. The Trump won the Mackinnon-Cup double in 1937. Nine subsequent champions followed his example. Many trainers, notably Bart Cummings, regarded even a beaten run in the Mackinnon as an ideal top-up for the Cup. With training patterns evolving, and more internationals running in the Cup, it made sense for the VRC in 2016 to switch the shorter Kennedy Cantala Stakes to Derby Day and reposition the Mackinnon Stakes, sponsored by Seppelt, as the feature race of XLIǻREPEXYVHE]SJXLI2IPFSYVRI(YT(EVRMZEP&TVM^IQSRI] boost to $2 million made the Group 1 race a goal in itself and an added attraction for the overseas horses.
LKS deserves his major race, as one of the great names of Flemington. Still, it was a nice turn of events when Gai Waterhouse won the Mackinnon Stakes as trainer, three times in the 2000s. One day a woman jockey will win the Seppelt Mackinnon Stakes to complete the story. It is only a matter of time.
PORTRAIT OF LKS MACKINNON
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