July 22, 2026
by Andrew Smith
Jimmy Smith always loved being around horses and racing but could never fully pinpoint where his enthusiasm for the industry stemmed from.
It wasn’t until he moved to Nanango and discovered his grandfather Frank Mills was a long-time horse trainer that he suddenly understood why he loves racing so much.
Jimmy is now busy putting that passion to good use as a jack-of-all-trades through his volunteer work at the Nanango Race Club.
For his dedication and commitment to the club, the 33-year-old is the latest winner of Racing Queensland’s “Cheer A Volunteer” award.
Jimmy said the move to Nanango in July 2024 sparked his interest in becoming involved with the club.
“My grandfather’s been a trainer in Queensland for 45 years, and part of us moving out here was to eventually start training out of the Nanango Race Club,” Jimmy said.
“When we first moved to town, I wanted to get involved with the club, and it’s just evolved from there.
“It’s a huge honour, I can’t thank Racing Queensland enough and I can’t thank the club enough.
“Especially our team of volunteers that helped me out and allow me to get our jobs done. I couldn’t do it by myself and I just want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.
“Volunteers are getting fewer and fewer as the years go on – especially younger volunteers – and that’s a big reason why I wanted to get involved is to show that young people can still do their bit for the community.
“The best part about being involved is the friendships you make and the people you meet, and also working for something better for your community, learning new skills and basically helping families and punters and the community alike enjoy their race day.”
The club’s next race meeting is on Saturday, August 8.
Jimmy and his fellow volunteers will collect and set up all the tables and chairs in the lead-up to race day, as well as setting up the Fashions on the Field stage, stocking the canteen and bar, and ensuring the track is ready to race on.
On race day, he will be found in the barbecue hut cooking up a storm with the rest of the team.
But it is Jimmy’s work in between race days that has proven to be the most valuable for the Nanango Race Club.
A builder by trade, he uses his skills at no cost to the club, helping save thousands of dollars.
“The tie-up stalls is one of the biggest ticket items we’ve ticked off,” he said.
“To get a professional company in there, they would have charged us probably up to $30,000-$40,000 if not more.
“But we were able to do it all ourselves at a cheaper rate and it was very viable for the club.
“There was a lot of rust and everything like that happening at the bottom of the tie-up stalls, so we treated all the rust, did all the structural works … we put rubber in front of all the tie-up stalls for the horses, so they have a bit more of a comfortable race meet.
“We’ve also replaced every single external door in the whole place, and we’ve also installed a door to the stewards’ room at the request of QRIC so no public could get in there.
“We also did the rest of the picnic tables under the seating areas, too.”
Committee member Tom Freeman paid tribute to the hard work of Jimmy and his team behind the scenes.
“It’d be quite easy to get contractors in and to do whatever needs to be done, but if we can rely on volunteers and expert advice from our volunteers, it’s certainly a saving,” Tom said.
