Heart and soul of club
Community goes to great lengths to keep beloved institution alive
MEET the men who have kept the cherished 139-yearold Beaudesert Race Club alive on the back of their own physical and financial investment.
The current board and committee have revealed the extent they went to to ensure the lifeblood of the racing industry in Beaudesert wasn’t lost before the historic merger with the Gold Coast Turf Club last week.
From working at the barriers and gates, mowing the lawn and building their own infrastructure, to supplying the money needed for the till floats on race day, there isn’t a thing the hands-on volunteer committee doesn’t do.
The Ahrens family, who have run a stable through trainer Ben in Beaudesert for more than a decade, watched the gradual decline of the country club before father Royce and son Matt decided it was time to act.
Royce spent eight years as president from 2009 while Matt and fellow committee members have laboured to solve the issues that came to a head when floods last year nearly sent the club under financially.
“It needed help,” Royce Ahrens said of his early involvement.
“The place was falling apart and we used to have to go over to our property and bring back bits of timber and posts to prop the place up until Racing Queensland helped a bit.
“They gave us $7 million to upgrade our grandstand a few years ago but me, Matt and Wayne Harrison spent 12 months rebuilding the buildings. We built the big corporate room so the club could at least run the functions.
“The club was struggling for a while.
“We were employing too many people and there weren’t enough volunteers.
“We have basically been running the club between six or seven of us this year.
“The club was that cashstrapped we had to do the (till) floats and everything for a few meetings just so we could have it. It’s usually about $12,000 and more on the Anzac Day meeting.”
The Ahrens have also paid for Harrison to help manage the day-to-day operations at the club, while track manager Rory Hanrahan and Dave Johnson are the only other paid staffers there.
When it comes to race day, it’s all hands on deck.
Chairman John Wilson runs the barriers and works on the track through the week and vice-chairman Brendan Magee works in the office fielding calls from members, trainers, owners and more alongside treasurer Matt Ahrens whose daughter Kelsey, 13, hands out the race books at the gate, which is operated by local businessmen Tom Plunkett and Joe Fenton.
Committee member Michael Payne does race-day preparation, including mowing and cleaning, while Royce oversees it all.
Royce Ahrens said the merger with GCTC would take the pressure off but declared the committee would always play a hands-on role at the club they love.