After more than 35 years at News Corp Australia, Ray Thomas has announced that this year\u2019s spring carnival will be his last.<\/p>\n
The Daily Telegraph\u2019s long-serving Racing Editor will retire at the conclusion of this year\u2019s carnival, bringing to a close a decorated career that took him from Randwick to Flemington, to Royal Ascot and countless racetracks in between.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter nearly 36 years at The Daily Telegraph reporting on racing, I feel it is time to move aside and let the younger generation come through,\u201d said Thomas, a six-time Kennedy Award winner and 1998 NSW Sports Writer of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed every moment of this job and the access it has afforded me to the champions of the sport, giving me many experiences and memories to last a lifetime.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
After joining The Sportsman in January 1990, Thomas was appointed Racing Editor at The Daily Telegraph in February 1994, a role in which he has reported on key historical moments in Australian racing including the 1995 Jockey Tapes scandal, Kerry Packer\u2019s $6 million betting plunge on Might And Power in the 1997 Melbourne Cup, the 2007 Equine Influenza outbreak and the merger of Sydney\u2019s two race clubs in 2011.<\/p>\n
He covered 25 consecutive Melbourne Cups from Jeune\u2019s win in 1994 to Vow And Declare in 2019; he was there when Bart Cummings won his 10th Melbourne Cup with Saintly in 1996 and also for the \u201cCups King\u2019s\u201d 12th and final Cup win with Viewed in 2008. Thomas was also on track for each of Makybe Diva\u2019s three Melbourne Cups from 2003-05.<\/p>\n
In recent years, he reported on most of the great Winx\u2019s 33 consecutive wins \u2013 including her four Cox Plates from 2015-18, three Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2017-19), and her Doncaster Mile win (2016).<\/p>\n
The Daily Telegraph editor Ben English said Thomas had set a new benchmark as a racing reporter that may never be matched. <\/p>\n
\u201cRay is the ultimate professional and a turf journalist without peer,\u201d English said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the moment he joined us in 1990 it was clear that Ray possessed a passion and zeal for horse racing that would take him to the very top of his game, and so it proved.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a living legend, not just of the racing world, but of Australian journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Racing NSW CEO Peter V\u2019landys paid tribute to Thomas\u2019 enduring contribution to the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very sad day for the NSW thoroughbred racing industry. In fact, it\u2019s the end of an era,\u201d V\u2019landys said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRay is the ultimate professional. He is one of the most hard-working and conscientious people I have ever met.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe reported the facts and the way he saw it. He was never intimidated by the haters and keyboard warriors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will need three people to replace him and even then it won\u2019t be anywhere near as good. Ray\u2019s legacy and impact will live for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel Sankey, Editorial Director for Racing and Wagering for News Corp Australia, praised Thomas\u2019s significant contribution not just to News Corp Australia, but the sport of racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t a more committed, meticulous and dedicated journalist in the sport than Ray Thomas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s respected and admired by media professionals and racing participants alike \u2026 not just as a newsbreaker, storyteller and tipster, but as a true gentleman of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray\u2019s final day with The Daily Telegraph will be on Saturday, November 15.<\/p>\n