There is never likely to be any questioning of Lloyd Williams’s inclusion into the Hall of Fame, he is surely a worthy inductee, however, it is a bit of joke that so many years have passed before Archer was finally recognised.

Archer won the first two Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 1862, yet it has taken 155 years for him to be recognised, surely someone has been having a bye bye.

It is absolutely ridiculous the time that it has taken to recognise some of these recipients, there are 11 new inductees, three are living, one we are not sure of, and the remainder have all passed away.

Someone has woken up about Tommy Corrigan, he has only been dead for more than a hundred years, he is surely worth a berth.

Brian Courtney was a prominent trainer, he had much of his success at Mentone with Dhaulagiri, Small Time, My Peak and New Statesman, and a host of other good horses, he moved to Caulfield when Mentone Racecourse was closed.

Des Judd trained at Caulfield on Bond Street an all sand street, he won the Oakleigh Plate and the Newmarket Handicap with Cromwell, after the death of Theo Lewis, he went to Flemington taking over Lewis’s stables in Leonard Cresent.

Alan Bell was a very stern steward, he didn’t believe in smiling much, if a jockey was called in before Bell the advice from the other jockeys was , “walk slowly and think quickly. “  

The Hall of Fame is a great concept, it certainly has a place in racing for those that have made a significant contribution to the racing industry, it is a great honour, to be proud of and enjoy , while the dead may rest peacefully.