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MARK GALLAGHER

If it were you and I as finish judges on a race day our biggest fear would surely be making some terrible error, especially in a major race. One reason Mark Gallagher, now the judge at both Addington and Riccarton, is good at his job is because he has a more pressing concern. That is being the only one in the room.

When he started back in the 1980s there were three officials in the judges box. You started at number three and worked upward. These days it is a solo job and Mark admits he sometimes wonders what would happen if the unexpected occurred. "Especially if you were at a distant track like, say, Waimate, and you suddenly became sick or were injured. I suppose a stipe could do it but it is not the sort of job anyone can just pick up in a day."

Mark was an assistant judge at Riccarton from 1985 with
Geoff Bruhns and Rob Fielder after Johnny Adams, who held the No.3 spot, left to referee top rugby matches. Mark also did some shifts at Addington and become No.2 under Ernie Fuchs when Bruhns retired in the mid 1990s having become No.2 to Fielder at Riccarton for the same reason. He has been the judge at Addington for many years now and succeeded Fielder at Riccarton this season.

While his path to the judging caper was a gradual one he has a strong racing background. Fate added to the recipe. "My grandmother was a cousin to Sir Henry Kelliher and managed hotels for him in Auckland. I can remember her getting me to put bets on with the illegal bookies at whippet meetings way back when. The bookie would say, 'What does Nan like in this one Snowy?' so I was in it from an early age. She really loved her racing. Dad was a keen punter too. It was in the blood."

Mark moved to Kawerau to work for Tasman Pulp and Paper where, earlier than most, he got the opportunity to work with computers back in the 1970s. "I was a budget clerk. But the government would only decide on the geothermal price in February so you would have to redo the budget with that price in mind. A computer was introduced to do that job and I got interested in programming. When PGG in Christchurch advertised for a programmer in 1979 we decided to move south for a change of scenery."

Pyne Gould Guinness (PGG) was where Fielder and Bruhns worked and the Gallagher racing interest soon formed an association. "The third judge then was really the runner, you helped judge the race but the main job was to take the result to the office and the Press room and post the photo finishes. It was quite full on."

The advance of technology in terms of more sophisticated photo finish and video operations managed in the area by Nigel Marks has reduced the need for a 'second opinion.' "Robbie and I always did our own independent commentary at Riccarton. That wasn't so necessary at Addington but Ernie and I would talk during the race about what was going on. I take particular notice of the horses two, three and four back on the rail. They are the ones likely to make a late run and if they are a little obscured you can be in trouble."

At Riccarton Mark uses only colours in his call but at Addington it is a combination because the colours are more distant from where the action is and numbers can be obscured in the photo. "I still do a visual call just in case anything goes amiss. It's important to stay vigilant and taking short cuts is going to catch up with you one day. You are naturally a bit more keyed up for the big days and probably do a little more homework. But with 30-minute intervals you usually have time to brush up on things between races."

He doesn't try too hard to prejudge the finish. "At Addington it is not until about 100 metres out that you know for sure you are in for a tight finish and even then sometimes it doesn't work out the way it looks then."

Judges are paid by clubs without including the travelling expenses RIB and RIU employees enjoy and is restricted in its appeal because it is still a part-time job. "One concern I have is training successors now. How far are you going to get offering to train someone with little or no payment on the promise they will get a part-time job at the end of it?"

Mark himself has had various part-time work from landscaping jobs for the well-to-do with a friend Rob Murphy, to traffic planning at road works. Flexibility around race days dictates that role. "At one stage there was talk of a full-time position with roles in other areas of racing between meetings but it doesn't appear to have come to anything.

Like many things in racing the secret to judging success is temperament. "You have to stay calm. All race results are important to the punter not just the big ones. Fortunately I haven't been 'on the mat' yet over any decisions."

Rangiora is the track Mark fears most. "You are not that far off the ground and the harness track is a long way away. Horses often slide up the inside and make things really tough. Height is everything."

He is open minded about any move to replace the long-winded announcements of placings and times in New Zealand with numbers on the screen for people watching in places where they can't the calls but can watch instant replays. Oddly, the tradition in this country once was the judges numbers being hoisted leaving the decision to murmurs from the crowds just as in Australia now. Back to the future it seems. "I am quite happy to push the buttons for the screen as they do in Australia. My mother in Auckland likes to hear my voice to check on my health but apart from that it doesn't really matter either way to me."

Credit: David McCarthy writing in Harnessed Oct 2015