Support flows for racing identity as death looms
“I might have crept a bit more time. But, hey, I’ve had my last Christmas and probably won’t get to spring racing."
Long-time Southland racing writer Jamie Searle has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of rare stomach cancer and has been given days to live. He talked with Logan Savory about the support he has received, as well as his love for the Southland province, racing, and The Southland Times.
Jamie Searle says Southlanders, the racing fraternity, and those in the journalism industry have got your back when you need it the most.
The long-time Southland racing writer has seen that in recent weeks.
On February 20, Searle suffered a minor stroke.
Initially, it wasn’t deemed anything too major, although further tests revealed something more serious.
The 61-year-old has an aggressive and rare form of stomach cancer. He was first told that with treatment, his life expectancy might be 19 months, and without treatment, it would probably be a year.
However, further issues have arisen. The medical messaging has changed.
On Wednesday, April 23, Searle was given the sobering news that his timeframe had narrowed to seven to 12 days.
He has since had a small win with a blockage in his stomach opening a little, which has been helped by some steroids. That has allowed some fluids to get into him.
“I might have crept a bit more time. But, hey, I’ve had my last Christmas and probably won’t get to spring racing.
“But look, everyone has got to fall off the perch at some time, and I’ve really enjoyed my life.
“Racing, The Southland Times, and Southland have been really good to me. I can’t speak highly enough of the three and the people involved in those three.
“Southlanders are true people, and they will help anyone, anytime. When you need them, they are there, that’s Southland,” Searle said.
“People I haven’t spoken to for 15-20 years have reached out to me.”
For 34 years and four months - from 1986 to 2022 - Searle worked at The Southland Times as a reporter.
Twenty-eight of those years were as a racing reporter before he shifted into a general news reporting role.
In the early 2000s, Searle was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame for his contribution to the history of harness racing.
Just last week, the thoroughbred, harness, and greyhound racing codes - along with the Ascot Park Consortium - all signed off on honouring Searle at the Ascot Park Raceway in Invercargill.
Ascot Park is a place he loves and has spent much of his life. Some of his ashes will end up there.
A piece of lawn that greets racegoers on their arrival at the racecourse will now be known as the “Jamie Searle Lawn” with signage to highlight that.
The chairperson of the Ascot Park Consortium, Sean Bellew, advised Searle of that decision last week.
“I was a bit surprised,” Searle said about the honour.
“But I think a lot of people know I’m passionate about racing, and I do my best for the industry. I’m always pushing Southland wherever I can.
“Southland has always been good to me, and I’m a proud Southlander.”
“Anyone who knows me knows that racing is like another limb for me. I tried my best. I didn’t get it right all the time, but my heart was in the right place.”
“I always had Southland racing and The Southland Times at heart, all of the time.”
A love for racing…
Searle can trace his love for horse racing back to when he was about 11 or 12.
He came from a Catholic family. Father McCarthy would visit on Saturdays to relax with Jamie’s dad Jim. The pair would have a flagon of beer and listen to races on the radio.
A young Searle became intrigued by the commentator.
He started mimicking the commentators of that era. Searle would find some privacy in the toilet at home and provide commentary for imaginary races.
He then discovered a horse racing game on sale in Invercargill, where you turn a handle and five horses would come down the straight. He would commentate those races.
One day Searle’s mum Moria bumped into local harness trainer Laurie Officer and told him she had a son who liked to commentate at home.
Officer told Moria to get Jamie to come along to the harness racing workouts, and they would give him a go at commentating some races live.
He did that when he was about 17 or 18, and that progressed to commentating on trials.
The Friday Flash then asked if Searle would be interested in doing some casual writing for the publication, which opened a door for him into the writing field.
“It was a leg in. I thought I would do my best, so I gave it a go.”
A racing reporter at The Southland Times then departed, and Searle was asked by Don Wright in 1986 if he would be interested in the role.
He thinks he might have been one of the last people to get an opportunity in the media industry without going through a journalism training institution.
Searle was thankful he was able to turn his hobby into full-time employment.
He had a year and a half away from The Southland Times in 2000. During that time, he launched the Home Straight website, which ran race fields and news items.
In some part, Searle was ahead of his time with that move into the digital age.
He stepped away from running the website when his mother Moria got sick with cancer, and he spent time looking after her.
In January 2003, Searle returned to his job as The Southland Times’ racing reporter.
One aspect he admits he struggled with over the years was writing the stories that others in the racing industry would prefer not to be written.
“You build up friendships, and it was not easy writing up suspension notices on trainers, jockeys, drivers…. But it was part of the job and journalism.
“It can’t be much fun seeing someone write your name because you’ve been suspended for careless riding or whatever.
“There have been other stronger instances where I’ve had to write about trainers, and it had to be written, but we have to meet these guys again.
“I did struggle with the hard questions, but I did love the community writing.”
Searle will likely forever hold the tag as The Southland Times’ last fulltime racing reporter.
He has seen plenty of changes during his time in journalism, including the transition from typewriters to computers.
During his 34 years at The Southland Times, Searle witnessed many reporters come and go. Many of them would come from outside Southland looking for a reporting opportunity.
Searle, more often than not, was the person who went out of his way to ensure they felt welcome in Southland.
It included opening up his home on Christmas Day for any reporters who did not have family in Southland.
“Journalists are good people; they are there for you. Nothing has changed since I left [The Southland Times]. I love them and they still love me.”
The new racing offering…
On the back of various changes in the media landscape, Searle’s later years at The Southland Times were as a general reporter, where he thrived covering community stories across many different topics.
But his passion for racing has not waned. He launched the Southland Thoroughbreds Facebook page in early 2020 to ensure he could still continue to provide news offerings for the thoroughbred code.
He felt harness racing in Southland was well catered for by others, so he zeroed in on the happenings of thoroughbred racing.
The last meeting Searle was able to cover in person was the Southland Racing Club’s Invercargill Gold Cup day on February 15.
Searle said for the first time in about 40 years, he missed this year’s Easter races at Riverton.
“Even before I got into the paper, I would go [to Riverton at Easter] because it was my interest.”
Despite being unable to attend in person, because of his health issues, Searle still provided coverage of the Easter races, including a story for this publication - The Southland Tribune.
Searle has continued to interview horse trainers from his Dunedin Hospital bed, which he said has helped keep his mind occupied during a tough time.
Searle added that Tayler Strong - a former ODT racing reporter - had been a massive help to him with the Facebook page, in particular in recent weeks when Searle’s health issues surfaced.
“He has been outstanding; he is a hell of a friend. He has stuck by me… he is just a pillar of strength that guy.”
Various people have backed the Southland Thoroughbreds page, including Entain as a sponsor.
Searle believes Entain has been the best thing to happen for racing in New Zealand, and he stresses he is not just saying that because the organisation has backed him.
“They have just breathed some life into the industry. From what I can see, they are looking after clubs and their sponsorship of my Facebook page in Southland shows they are there for Southland.”
Searle said there were plans for the Southland Thoroughbreds Facebook page to be handed over to the racing industry, and someone else would carry it on when that time came.
It would be Searle’s gift to an industry that he said had been so good to him.
A passion beyond just work…
Searle’s passion for racing stretches well beyond just writing about it.
He admits he has poured a fair bit of his money back into the industry over the years. It has included owning over 200 horses.
Many of those 200-odd horses he provided a second chance.
Searle would often attend race meetings in a work capacity and leave owning a horse that had run at the back of the field, and the trainer was looking to offload.
“I like the battler. I’ve always been a battler, and I like giving horses a second chance. A change of environment with a change in technique or whatnot.”
“I had good times with the likes of [trainers] Steve Lock and Curly Thomas. Murray Faul trained a couple of nice horses for me.
“I just like to give back to the industry, because I made a living out of it.”
Searle is part of a rare club in Southland of people who have owned winners in all three racing codes - harness, thoroughbreds, and greyhounds.
There was a period when Searle did not just own greyhounds, he also trained them with guidance from the Eade family.
In September 1991, when the Southland Greyhound Club held its first meeting at the new greyhound track at Ascot Park, Searle did not just cover the event for The Southland Times; he was also a race sponsor for that historic first meeting.
Searle said he will forever be grateful for what the people of Southland, The Southland Times, and the racing industry have done for him.
The reality is that those three are all indebted to what Jamie Searle has done for them.
We have a help each other relationship over the years, it has been a pleasure working alongside you although in a different capacity.
I enjoyed reading your personal interest articles.
Very sorry to hear of your ill health and poor prognosis. Travel well Jamie
Peter Williams
Awesome story. Jamie you are a legend, and a very special work colleague and friend.