Race caller relies on his daughter for official placings

By Darren Cartwright

Having attended racetracks with her father and caller Brett Moody since she could walk, Minnie (Jess) Moody knew a career in racing beckoned - just not behind the mic.

As a photo-finish operator, though, across numerous southeast Queensland and Western Downs tracks, she’s never far from her father on most race days.

She’s often relaying the placings to Brett and the stewards, in a career she admits to falling into, and in love with, six years ago.

“I never wanted to be a caller, but my birthday is August 1, the same as the horses, so it was my destiny," she said with a laugh.

“The person, who previously did the photo-finish before me at Dalby, was giving it up and I had met him because dad was the race caller there, and he asked if I would be interested?”

After accepting the role, her racetrack duties quickly expanded from Dalby and Clifton to include, but not limited to, St George, Warra, Texas, Tara, Chinchilla, Goondiwindi, Stanthorpe, Bell and Talwood.

Once the horses cross the line, Minnie relays the result to stewards who will only drop by - most times at her request - when it's an extremely tight finish.

“There’s a lot of trust in the role because when it is a close margin, you’re deciding who has won and who has placed,” she said

“Now that I have built a relationship with the stewards, there is trust in my decision, but I don’t take it personally if someone wants to have a look.

“When it is close, and I have trouble finding a margin, the stewards will come and chat about whether we can find a margin.

“It’s always good to run it by them when there is a pixel's difference.”

Scrutinising the placings is not as difficult as setting up the equipment on race days if she uses a photo-finish camera (Optic 2), that weighs as much as 40kg.

They take about three-quarters of an hour to set up and calibrate, whereas the latest camera (Optic 3) takes “one minute", she said.

“Optic 2 comes in two suitcases, and they weigh about 20kg each, and getting them up a ladder to a tower leaves a lot to be desired,” she said.

“The latest model takes about a minute to set up and weighs 10kg but with Optic 2 you must line the camera up manually with the mirror.

“I put coloured paper on the mirror when I set up, so I can work out what I am looking at, and it usually takes a good 40 minutes to line up.

“I then climb up to the tower and look for the coloured paper on the computer screen to know line it up.

“The camera is in the tower and shoots onto the mirror, but you have to zoom out enough to see the outside running rail in case horses come out wide.”

Travelling each weekend to the races is not where her interest in racing starts and ends.

She has a part-share in four horses with trainers Corey and Kylie Geran at Toowoomba and owns two greyhounds.

It’s her interest as an owner that reinforces the importance of her role on race day.

“It is a serious business because it's people’s money, and it’s a competition,” she said.

“I take a lot of pride in my job, and I love travelling around to the country circuits.’

Of the tracks she visits, St George has gone from horror to hero, following an upgrade of the tower that has made carrying the photo finish equipment much easier.

“St George used to be problematic, but is now state of the art,” she said.

“It’s great to see facilities upgraded as it makes my life a lot easier, especially carrying all the gear up ladders and into tight spaces.

"I aspire to work a big Queensland Carnival race day, at either Doomben or the Gold Coast, and then onto Sydney or Melbourne."

But nothing beats heading to the races with her father.

“My favourite meetings are when we travel out together,” she said.