Laidlaw, 73, said it was a tough decision to hand over his trainer’s brief.

"I just thought now is the right time to retire. The horses appear to be bigger and stronger and they were brushing me aside so I thought I better give it away before something happened to me," Laidlaw said.

"I've loved every minute of my career. I've trained winners in Melbourne and Adelaide plus plenty of winners on the country circuit.

“I've been lucky that my wife Gail has been there to support me over the years."

Laidlaw rated Groomed (20 wins), Sultans Hope (16), Jdiga (12), Chief Wild Eagle (10) and Tarrington among the best horses he has trained during his long career.

PLANS are well underway for the Penshurst Racing Club to remember its halcyon days when the club stages the 150th running of the Penshurst Cup on Boxing Day.

Secretary Brendan Kelly said the club is working tirelessly trying to increase crowd numbers to the popular race day.

"We're hoping for a really big day," Kelly said.

"We expecting buses from Hamilton, Port Fairy, Warrnambool, Portland and Ararat.

“We're going to have a lot of photos and other memorabilia from various eras on display and we're selling a 150-year calendar to mark the achievement."

Back in the 1980s Penshurst hosted crowds of more than 6000 people to the Boxing Day meeting but crowd numbers have dropped off over the years.

Kelly is hoping more than 1500 turn up this year.

"The town of Penshurst is really getting behind the event,” he said.

“The annual race day is a real community event for the town.

“We're promoting the day as a relaxed family event which gives people the chance to catch up with family and friends after a hectic Christmas.

"We used to get big crowds here in the 1980s but things have changed with people leading busier and different lifestyles.

“There have been a lot of people enquiring about marquee bookings for the day.

“We would love to get about 1500 people this year and that would give us a great foundation to build on for the future."

The Boxing Day meeting this year falls on a Saturday.

IMPRESSIVE trackwork on Tuesday morning was the catalyst for Warrnambool-trained mare Ruby Road to make the long trip to Swan Hill and win a restricted race over 1600 metres on Sunday.

Ruby Road was freshened up by her trainer Symon Wilde after she struck her near-front cannon bone following a second placing at Mortlake on October 31.

"She ran well at Mortlake but had a sore spot on her cannon bone the day following the race," Wilde said.

"I just gave her a bit of a rest before giving her a solid gallop last Tuesday.

“Jockey Shane Jackson was really impressed with her trackwork so we decided to make the long trip to Swan Hill with her for the race.

“It's the first time she's won over 1600 metres. Her best form is over more ground so she looks set for a good campaign."

Irish-born jockey Declan Bates, who is based in Warrnambool, earned rave reviews from Wilde after his winning ride on Ruby Road in the $16,000 race.

"It was a great ride by Declan. He's rides really good," Wilde said.

“Declan rides a bit of work for us and other Warrnambool trainers. He's a quiet sort of person who looks to have a real future in Warrnambool."

Sunday's win was Ruby Road's third from 26 starts.

POPULAR Crossley trainer Quinton Scott was left perplexed with the disappointing run of Durnford in the $100,000 Pakenham Cup on Sunday.

Scott rated Durnford a good each way hope before the 2000 metre race but ran last in the 11 horse field.

"It was a terrible run," the respected trainer said. "The run was really embarrassing as I thought he would have went better. I rated him an each way hope. I'm not really sure what happened to him. He was well weighted and travelled good in the run but found nothing from the home turn."

Scott said he had been happy with Durnford's two runs at Mornington and Sandown before Sunday's dismal effort.

"I'm not sure what I will do with Durnford going forward. We'll just take him home and see how he is over the next few days," Scott said.

"We've been doing a lot of beach work with him and he appeared in good order.

“He ran well at Mornington and Sandown. It's  just a mystery what happened at Pakenham."

Durnford, who was formerly trained by Pat Carey has won more than $220,000 in stakemoney for his connections.

TOP jockey Brad Rawiller was suspended on a careless riding charge by stewards at Pakenham on Sunday.

Rawiller pleaded guilty to the charge.

Rawiller's suspension started at midnight on November 30 and ends at midnight on December 10.

Meanwhile, Mount Gambier jockey Paul Marks was found guilty of a careless riding charge at Swan Hill on Sunday.

Marks’ suspension runs from from November 30 to December 7.