The Victorian Wakeful Club was founded on 27th August 2001 and initially had 25 Members, and the Club was named after one of the great Thoroughbreds of the Australian Turf, a mare named Wakeful. She won 25 of her 44 starts (1902-1903). She defeated top racehorses at distances from 5.5 furlongs to three miles. Over the years, the membership numbers has increased.

 

We are a Not for Profit organisation governed by the Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) Rules for Not for Profit organisations. The “W” brooch presented to each new member is valued at $50.00 and given free of charge.

There are three main events throughout the year, the major one being the Lady of Racing Award Luncheon.

 

The Lady of Racing Award was instigated our foundation President, Marie McCullough, (now a Life Member) in 1993. The first Lady of Racing Award event was held at Moonee Valley Racecourse on 19th May 1994. This event is well known on the Racing calendar and usually attracts up to 400 guests. It is a wonderful event and we have seen it grow year after year until it is now a major event on the racing calendar. In recent years, the event has been held on the 8th March to coincide with International Women's Day. 

 

Our other social functions for the Club are our Birthday Luncheon held as close to the 27th August each year the foundation date of the Wakeful Club, and our Christmas Luncheon. We also have other social functions throughout the year.

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We support Melbourne Polytechnic by sponsoring an Equine Student via the Mary Martin Scholarship. This is in memory of our first Treasurer. We also offer the Marie McCullough Apprentice Jockey scholarship and bi-annually sponsor an Equine Student at Marcus Oldham by way of a Bursary. We donate funds to various charities as selected by the members. These have included various Horse Rescue & Rehabilitation organisations, the National Jockeys’ Trust and Living Legends.

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The Club holds a minimum of four meetings a year including the AGM. The Club has a Committee made up of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and two Member’s Assistants (Ordinary Members according to the rules). We have our own in-house rules, but we are governed by the Rules from Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) and can conduct extra-ordinary meetings when required.