The passing of Jack Besanko late last week, he was the fifth generation to have trained at Epsom.

He was a popular and well respected figure in racing, well known in the Mordialloc -Epsom area which was his home for 85 years, his family and his horses were all that he wanted in life.

Epsom was a closely knit community, at one stage the best training centre in Melbourne, a natural sand base it suited horses, the nearby beach at Mordialloc was also a huge asset to swim the horses.

Jack was never in a hurry to take out a trainer’s licence preferring to be foreman to his father, they worked together well, it was only after the death of his father that Jack applied for a licence to train.

He could always tell a good story, he had a great repertoire, like the time the grandstand was burnt to the ground at Epsom, he was the first on the site, he even beat the fire brigade.

It was a sad loss for racing as it was never rebuilt, racing ceased thereafter, the course was only used as a training centre.

When a meeting was convened to discuss the cause of the fire, a member of the club declared it was Squissy Taylor; he was blamed for burning the Guineas stand down at Caulfield, only to be told that the alleged was murdered two years before the Epsom fire.

Jack retired from training when the course was finally closed for training in April 1998, his wife, Ivy, a lovely lady, passed away some years ago, he is survived by sons Barry and Raymond, who train at Pearcedale.