THIS will be the 70th time brothers Ray and Ron Carroll have collectively packed up the car and headed off for their annual May Races pilgrimage.
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The 300 kilometre-plus journey is no deterrent for the siblings, who have been attending since they were boys.
For Ron it will be his 75th trip. He was born at Koroit Hospital in 1935 and began attending the May Races around the age of six with his grandfather.
Back then there were races both at Koroit and the 'Bool, he remembers.
"As kids we would attend races at Koroit and Warrnambool, and I have kept coming back ever since I was able to get here under my own steam," he said.
"We used to be able to ride around the track on the morning of the Grand Annual. I remember one time I hadn't ridden in a while and I felt like a bag of spuds, bouncing around everywhere."
"We ran the whole track, but they don't have that anymore," Ray added.
From childhood memories in Warrnambool stemmed a great passion for racing; Ron has been to 63 Pakenham Cups and 75 May Carnivals.
In the pocket of his tweed jacket he was carrying a race book from 1979, its pages yellowed from the years. The total stake for the May Carnival in 1979 was $72,800. There was $5000 up for grabs at Wangoom and $14,500 for the Grand Annual.
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"I say to people, if there's only one race meeting you could ever go to, you have to get to the Thursday for the Grand Annual and to go up onto the hill to watch the race. I think it's more exciting than the Melbourne Cup," Ron said.
"One of my fondest memories was sitting on the floor as a boy and listening to my grandfather and one of his friends talk about their antics at the races.
"They were laughing so much that there were tears streaming down their cheeks.
"So I grew up with that sort of feeling and loving coming here."
Being the younger brother, Ray hasn't attended quite as many as his older brother. Aside from the childhood races that he attended in Warrnambool, he has been to every carnival for the last 20 years.
"There were two stages of races for me; when I was really young from about the age of nine, and then once I started working I started coming back regularly and have been each year for about 20 years," Ray said.
"It's a gathering like no other event on the racing calendar."
The pair also visited their childhood home on the way to the races, which despite being abandoned, still had a photo of their mother on the wall.
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