The Old Knobs, a group of ex Rugby Union players and sporting tragics that have made the Canobolas Hotel in Orange their preferred "watering hole" have taken a share in the lease of our filly Rolluscating.

Headed up by the Canobolas' mkine host, Phil Tudor, the guys have taken a 20% share in Rolluscating, who will have their first start for them, and her third in all at Cowra on Monday.

Other Orange locals to take up shares in horses are Mick Madden (20%) and Bruce Risby (10%) in Rivers. She is also scehduled to clash with Rolluscating on Monday (although she is second reserve). If she does not get a start she will trial at the meeting.

I hope both fillies can win a race for the new owners.

Events of the past few months have left me a little bewildered and asking myself "just what has happened to Orange?" Happenings in the central western NSW city where I spent a good deal of my formative years have made me wonder what has gone wrong in the place.

I am no "blow in" to Orange. I was among the first student intake to Canobolas High School, spent a few years living in the town when it was a hyper-friendly place, a thriving racing metropolis and by far the best racing centre in the area where comeraderie and fun were as much a part of racing as the competitiveness. I have never been one for harking back to perceived "halcyon days" - the world has changed, racing has changed - and unfortunately so has Orange.

I learned to ride in the town, spending most weekday mornings trotting around the car park on the Neil Wright-trained Travel Star and spending a few weekends out at the late Tom Beauzeville's property being led by Tom off his white pony on a lovely little chestnut mare, Eglington Hope, with Tom's son, the late Reg Beauzeville yelling instructions to me from the back paddock gate. In fact at my last ride on Orange racecourse I won on Youbelong for Oberon trainer, the late Vic Arrow (senior) and we beat the heavily backed Quietely Spoken trained at Randwick by Les Bridge and ridden by the late great Jack Thompson.

In later years I filled in for a season as the course and 2BS race broadcaster at Orange when the late John Kerwick relinquished the position to take up a position with the NSW Trotting Authority and the current caller Col Hodges was recovering from back injuries sustained in his other life as a shearer. My memories of the town were very fond indeed.

Alas, all that seems to have changed - and not for the better.

Racing in Orange is now a rump of its former self. When I first went to the town with my family there were a host of horses in work. Bill Regan, Brian Honeyman, Jack Eddy, Reg Priest, Pat Ryan, Neil Wright, Neville Stuart, Connie Williamson, Tom Beauzeville, Dick Cornish, Max Wardle and others trained on the track.

Jockeys were plentiful too, Ray "Spike" Jones, Kevin Jopson, Matey Molloy, Ned Dougherty, my father Des, Kevin Crowe, Bruce Gentle were among the seniors in the town and Stephen Archer, Geoff Tanswell, George Nicholas, Wayne Wardle and Reg Paradowski were among the apprentices.

Now there is one race riding jockey in Orange - James Geppert - and he is an apprentice.

The track used to be abuzz every morning with horses - but these days it just seems to be abuzz with malicious gossip and appalling un-Orange like behaviour.

There are a few exception, Reg "Squeaker" Priest - who is the same man now to the man I knew 40 years ago, Max Wardle, who I had a yarn with about "old times" in our Orange stables a few months back and Wayne Wardle and his wife Sue, who have been extremely kind to me since I re-entered the Orange scene.

"Johnno" Johnson has also remained elevated - but then again "Johnno" is "old school" - and that is probably why he has been a very successful horse trainer and has the respect of all his peers.