Former jockey thrilled to be back at May Racing Carnival for grand annual

Garry Kelson, 73, loved horse racing but he often struggled to keep his weight down.

"I was always too big, that's why I wasn't professional," Mr Kelson said.

He competed in The Corinthians - race meets where amateurs could go head to head with professional jockeys across the district.

Mr Kelson said he was proud to have ridden alongside the likes of Nifty Wilson and Terry Boswell.

"The horse I was mainly associated with and rode the most was Black Sun, who won a grand annual," he said.

Mr Kelson, who worked at the National Australia Bank in Warrnambool and Koroit, said he loved being involved with horse racing.

He admits he sometimes went to extreme measures to secure a ride.

"I would have black tea and two boiled eggs a day - that was all - for a long time," Mr Kelson said.

He said he rode two winners one day at Colac and one at a Casterton meet.

"It was more for the fun of it," Mr Kelson said.

"You rode track work every morning and you were with the horses before and after work."

Mr Kelson, who now lives in Jervis Bay, said he tried to get back to attend the May Racing Carnival and the Koroit Irish Festival every few years.

He has a share in a horse which has a run in Thurday's Grand Annual Steeplechase - Sandman.

Mr Kelson said while it had long odds, it was a thrill to have a horse in the race.

Hamilton's Michael Stewart was also at the races on Thursday.

The 94-year-old has owned a number of horses over the years, some with Warrnambool's Colin McKenna.

He said he had been attending the carnival for about four decades and loved jumps racing.