Racing events have always played a central role in the life of Eulo. Dispersed widely across the Paroo’s mulga lands, the locals needed a good reason to saddle up and ride the long dusty miles into town just for a social outing. Put a race meeting centre stage of the festivities however and you could be sure of drawing a crowd.

With horses being the life blood of pastoral stations, property owners often took great pride in the quality of their thoroughbred stock.

When the aptly named Maiden Plate was run as the first meeting of the newly formed Eulo Jockey Club in August 1888, it was the owners’ names that featured ahead of the horses as Mr Cobb’s Murrumbong won easily from Mr Huxleys “Zingara” with Mr Robinson’s Olive well back a distant third.

This same pride in the quality of their racing stock flowed in the veins of the locals after 1968 when lizards took centre stage in the Eulo racing calendar.

By this time horses were fast becoming a distant memory on local properties as motor cycles took over stock work. Without a local supply of quality horses to underpin local race meetings, Paroo residents turned their attention to the more intensive sport of lizard racing.

As expectations surrounding the forthcoming annual event grew in August 1971, one magazine article explained that:

“Many locals have been training their lizards for weeks during which time they are well fed on raw meat and flies. They race in a 40 foot circular area starting from the centre. The first to reach the outside wins. Their jockeys barrack them on by splashing water on their backs.”

The most memorable day for lizard racing at Eulo occurred in August 1980 when champion frilly Woodenhead flashed across the line in a world record 1.8 seconds. Woodenhead was however later beaten by a Sydney cockroach flown in specially for the occasion by members of the Sydney Cockroach Club.

Unfortunately at the end of the special match race disaster struck. The cockroach club members were all excitedly jumping around when one of them landed on the champion insect. A memorial service was held at the pub and a plaque later installed here onsite to commemorate the occasion.

A 1992 ACCOUNT OF THE RACES