Australia’s oldest and richest sprint race is steeped in history on and off the track, with famous tales of runners beating the handicapper and the bookies as well as their rivals to cash in.
A throwback in the modern age of sport, the Stawell Gift even still invites oddmakers to be on course, continuing a tradition that stretches back more than a century.
Gout Gout will headline the men’s field next month.Credit: Eddie Jim
But while betting has been closely associated with the event over the years, there will be no punting permitted on one of its biggest ever drawcards – schoolboy sensation Gout Gout – when he competes in the central Victorian town over the Easter long weekend.
Under Victorian laws that were introduced last year to enhance sport integrity, money cannot be placed in the state on athletes who are under the age of 19.
Gout, the Queensland flyer who has drawn comparisons with world record holder and eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, is only 17.
The regulations mean that when Gout lines up in the heats of the men’s 120 metres dash on the grass of Stawell’s Central Park, and then potentially the final on Easter Monday, bookies will have to leave an empty space beside his name where a price would usually be. The same applies to online markets in Victoria.
Bookmakers have been on course at the Stawell Gift for most of its 142 editions.Credit: Andrew De La Rue
Having shot to stardom last December when he ran a wind-assisted 10.04 seconds in the 100m and broke the national 200m record after it had stood for 56 years, all eyes are expected to be on the youngster when he competes in the iconic race.
But if betting was allowed on Gout, he would not necessarily be the favourite. Under the gift’s handicap format, he will be one of the backmarkers, if not off scratch, giving others a head start when he arrives for a tilt at the $40,000 winner’s purse on offer for both men’s and women’s sprints.
Only two runners have won off scratch since the first gift in 1878 and not even world champions Asafa Powell and Kim Collins were able to reel their opponents back in when they were high-profile participants.
Gout’s appearance, a week after the national championships in Perth, is not just expected to drive crowds to a venue whose capacity is a tightly packed 15,000 to 20,000. It is also tipped to spur entries as well, perhaps from those, like 21-year-old Paris Olympian Lachlan Kennedy, who have run even faster than him.
The handicapping is designed to create a close and uncertain finish.Credit: Getty Images
“Bringing a name like Gout Gout is pretty big for us,” said Matt McDonough, president of the Victorian Athletic League, which puts on the races.
“Even some of the elite amateur guys who sometimes come to Stawell and sometimes don’t, have now put their hand up to say ‘hey we want to be there to be in the race with him’.
“Basically, anyone can enter the Stawell Gift too … so there’s a few people who are aware of that have said ‘I’m going to enter just in case – I might be drawn in the same heat as Gout Gout’.”
Stawell’s charm is wrapped up in the stories of competitors who have come to the historic gold mining centre from near and far in pursuit of glory – and to fill their pockets. They include Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie and former world champion Scotsman George McNeill, whose supporters cleaned up with the bookies when he finally conquered the gift in its 100th instalment in 1981 after half a dozen attempts.
Runners have also bid to outfox the handicapper by under-performing in lead-up events hoping to receive a favourable mark at Stawell.
Last year, Sydney’s Tom Pellow was backed from $201 to $1.75 on the morning of his heat before raising eyebrows when he ran significantly faster than he had in races earlier in the season. He was disqualified.
Plunges on the gift are not what they were – there are only two bookmakers on site these days, where once there were 30 – but a decision last year to end betting at the gift was met with stiff resistance.
“We did get a fair bit of backlash from the competitors, I might say,” said Murray Emerson, a local councillor and chair of Stawell Gift Event Management.
“They were a bit concerned that we’d withdrawn betting from the Stawell Gift that had a 140-year history of wagering on it. So in our wisdom we reversed the decision. We decided we can keep the betting, keep the history, but eliminated the betting on under-age people.”
If Gout does finish first, those who gambled on the athlete in second place would collect – as long as he’s not under 19 as well.
Either way, it’s a win for Stawell. “I tried to get our blokes to lock him in for the rest of his life, basically,” Emerson said.
“But if he becomes a Usain Bolt, he’ll probably never come back to Stawell again. It’s very exciting – we’re looking forward to it.”
