A veritable army of people performing specialist duties play a vital role in the running of high profile race meetings. From jockeys, trainers and strappers to general stable staff. From the print media to the many radio and television representatives. Restaurant and bar staff are under the pump long before the running of the first race. The barrier attendants, the clerks of the course, track staff, parking officials - even the uniformed gatekeepers have a part to play. Historically some of the “turnstile sentries” refuse to let the wind in without the appropriate identification. Race club staff need to be on their toes from the get-go, especially those in the judges’ box and the weighing room. Throw in the stewards and the photo finish operators, and you’ve got a beehive of activity from go to whoa.
It’s unlikely there was a busier specialist at Royal Randwick these past two Championship days than gun racing photographer Mark Bradley. A glut of Gr 1 races and the presence of glamour horses escalates demand for high quality photos of special moments. Owners from overseas and interstate clamour for photographs of their beloved horses winning Derbies, Doncasters and other historic events. It’s not unusual for the winners of races like the Country and Provincial Championship Finals to have multiple ownership - large syndicates boasting anything up to twenty people all anxious to have an imposing photograph of their beloved thoroughbred displayed in a prominent spot at home.
Five master exponents of the race photography art - from left - Martin King, Jesse Webber, Mark Bradley, Steve Hart and Michael McInally.
Mark Bradley’s charter is to give potential customers photos that capture the enormity of the moment, and to provide them with plenty of choice. With this in mind Mark turned up at Randwick bright and early on days one and two of The Championships with an arsenal of fifteen high quality cameras and two very competent photographers to help him operate them. Jesse Webber has been on the Bradley Photographer’s team for quite some time and has learned the trade well under Mark’s expert tutelage. Flying in from Brisbane to lend a hand these past two Saturdays was Michael McInally, a versatile young photographer whose talents were recognised by Mark some time ago.
The setting up process had to be completed long before racing commenced. Seven of the fifteen cameras were deployed from an infield position, some at ground level others slightly elevated. Remote control mechanisms had to be set in place to ensure that none of the action was missed as the horses thundered to the line in every race. All other cameras were used on the grandstand side to capture close up and wide angle shots of every finish, and the jubilant reaction of connections as winners returned to the enclosure. “Winners are grinners” is an old cliche that Mark keeps in mind as he searches for emotional responses from those closest to the horses in question.
In days of yore racing photographers used manual cameras greatly restricting the number of exposures available. Many priceless moments in racing escaped the camera lens. Today Mark and his colleagues are working with a combination of professional Nikon SLR’s (single lens reflex) and state of the art mirrorless cameras capable of reeling off an incredible twenty frames per second. Is it any wonder the fifteen camera concentration on April 5th and 12th produced the staggering totals of 32,000 images on each day. From that massive yield Mark had the formidable task of selecting 1000 images from each meeting to be posted onto his website. Over the years he’s developed an uncanny instinct to know which images owners will like best.
Fifty nine year old Mark Bradley has been around the world of racing photography from an early age. His late father Bill actually purchased a long running business owned by C.J. Bickley & Sons in the mid 1980’s and young Mark was quickly put on standby as a freelance photographer. The buzz of the racetrack and the art of getting the right photos was part of his life long before he headed off to do other things. Few were surprised in 2003 when he actually purchased Bradley Photographers from his father who opted to stay involved on a casual basis for many more years. The Sydney racing industry greeted news of Bill Bradley’s passing in 2018 with profound sadness. Mark has worked hard to uphold the tradition of excellence established by Bill Bradley all those years ago.
Chatting with the recently retired Steve Hart a few days ago to learn that he wasn’t at all surprised with Mark’s massive output of images over the first two days of The Championships. He too worked extensively with the new Nikon mirrorless cameras and is still in awe of their capabilities. Steve was quick to remind me that in his early years as a race photographer he would shoot 35 rolls of film over the course of a Sydney race meeting and drop them at the local pharmacy for development. He’d pick up his racing prints as other people were collecting their holiday snaps and take them to the next race meeting where customers would place their orders. Good to learn that Steve hasn’t been lost to the Sydney racing scene. At Mark Bradley’s request he made a brief comeback at the Hawkesbury meeting on April 5th and proved that he hasn’t lost the touch.
Steve Hart was joined by Michael McInally (left) and Mark Bradley at his retirement dinner at Gosford Racecourse last year.
(Banner image - You can see the fire in Stefi Magnetica's eye as she throws herself at the line to win the Doncaster - One of 32,000 images from Mark Bradley's team on the first day of The Championships - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)