John Messara Joins Aust Racing Hall of Fame

On an evening that included the induction of ten new additions to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, among them Bob Charley & Les Bridge and the late Darby McCarthy & Guy Walter, founder and Chairman of Arrowfield Stud, John Messara, was inducted as an esteemed associate. The honour occurred at the 2021 ceremony presented by Racing SA in Adelaide on Friday evening. As a breeder, stallion-maker, racehorse owner and industry leader, Messara has been at the centre of almost every milestone in the transformation of Australian thoroughbred breeding & racing over the past 35 years. He didn’t come to the industry with the traditional advantages of practical horsemanship and an inherited farm. Instead, he arrived in Sydney as an 11-year-old immigrant and progressed to become, at 25, the youngest Member of the Sydney Stock Exchange. Eventually, Messara’s enthusiasm for racing and breeding overtook his success as a stock-broker and, in 1985, he founded Arrowfield Stud, now based on 2,500 acres near Scone in the Segenhoe Valley of New South Wales. Since then, Messara has created a thoroughbred dynasty, but one where his industry influence at-large is at least the equal of Arrowfield's and its champion stallions. For a detailed synopsis of Messara’s indefatigable contribution to the thoroughbred industry, click here.

John Messara and John Hawkes (pic: supplied)