Mareeba life member carrying on family legacy

By Andrew Smith

The name of his father-in-law adorns the grandstand, and Sibey Greco is undoubtedly keeping the family legacy alive at the Mareeba Turf Club.

The 82-year-old has been named Racing Queensland’s latest Cheer A Volunteer winner.

Sibey looks after the course proper at the Far North Queensland club, leading a team of volunteers in mowing and watering the track, along with servicing and preparing the equipment for race days.

He ran a heavy vehicle mechanical business for almost 50 years, but has been involved in the region’s racing scene for decades.

“I did marry into a racing family, it was back in the 1960s where I got interested,” Sibey said.

“My late father-in-law who the stand is named after – Robert Bethel - was a life member of this club and a volunteer, as well as being a racehorse owner and trainer.

“I got the bug and it went from there.

“I started strapping for friends early in the piece and took out my own trainer’s licence and brought about three or four yearlings.

“My late brother-in-law was a jockey here at Mareeba and in Townsville, and he went on to become a steward in Townsville, and my wife is on the committee at the present time.”

The great-grandfather’s years of efforts saw him rewarded with life membership of the club at the recent Mareeba Cup meeting.

Cox Plate-winning jockey Steven Arnold was on hand to present Sibey with the honour.

It was his retirement from full-time work that meant he was able to devote more time to the club and continue to fuel his love of racing.

“I love coming here because it keeps me active and I don’t want to be at home sitting around watching TV - coming here with the fellas and working and joining them on race day with a few drinks, it’s amazing,” Sibey said.

“It’s the love of racing that brings me into it, and I know besides working as a mechanic, I loved my racing and met a lot of people and made a lot of friends in it.

“I’m very humble and the life membership belongs to a few of my friends that help - it’s not only mine, I couldn’t do this without them.

“They say I’m the boss, but I’m not a boss - I just come up here and fuel up and look after the gear and give everyone a job and we all do it together.

“When you come here for a day like the Mareeba Cup day, and the track’s good and the facilities are good and clean and the people comment on it, it’s very rewarding.”

Club President Allan Holmes had only one person in mind when deciding who to nominate for RQ’s Cheer A Volunteer initiative.

Holmes declared Sibey as a man who could never be replaced at the club.

“I’m sure there’s plenty of race clubs that have got volunteers, but there won’t be too many that have volunteers of the calibre of Sibey,” Holmes said.

“He’s so conscientious, dedicated - nothing gets past him, he loves the place, and just have a look around, it’s tremendous.

“He puts a lot of time and effort in and he’s got a great rapport with a group of people that help him - it’s not just Sibey, but Sibey’s the main man.

“He really is dedicated to making sure the grounds and the facilities and the equipment are all in top shape.”

Mareeba usually hosts four race days each year.

But with Cyclone Jasper and Cyclone Kirrily hitting the region over the 2023/24 wet season, neighbouring clubs including Innisfail, Einasleigh and Gordonvale were forced to call off meetings.

It saw the Mareeba Turf Club step up to save the racing from being completely abandoned - thanks to Sibey and his crew.

“We were only able to do that because Sibey and others keep the ground in this sort of shape,” Holmes said.

“At a moment’s notice, we were able to run race meetings which the other clubs were unable to do, and that’s because of the dedication and the commitment of these volunteers.

“We race four times a year, so you don’t generate enough income to be paying people, so without the volunteers we wouldn’t have a turf club, we would have to fold up and go away.”

Holmes said the biggest challenge was getting the next generation invested in volunteering their time to help keep country clubs afloat.

“My own grandson worked on the barriers on Cup day for the first time so hopefully we can get the younger ones involved,” Holmes said.

“We’ve got a few younger people that will hopefully be involved with the committee and volunteer.

“There’s so much for young people to do today - it’s a difficult task but we’re working on it.”

As for Sibey, who has three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, retiring from his track duties is a way off yet.

“I couldn’t put a time on it but the way I feel at the moment, quite a few years - I feel well so I’ll do it as long as I can,” Sibey said.

“I’m not a person who looks for those sort of awards, I do it because I want to do it.

“I‘ve lived here and I’ve taken from the town for a lot of years and I’m just giving a bit back and I enjoy my company with my volunteers and the committee and I love the day and love what happens.”

Clubs are encouraged to nominate their valued volunteers for the award, which is sponsored by Neil Mansell Transport & Mittys.

State-wide, there are more than 8,300 volunteers who make an invaluable contribution to the industry, providing their time and expertise to sustain Queensland’s three codes of racing.

Click here for more information on Cheer A Volunteer and to nominate.