He believed in the city’s horseracing community and he believed in the track.

It’s fitting then that on Goulburn’s premier day – the Goulburn Cup – Walter will be remembered in more ways than one.

He is after all, the $100,000 Cup’s reigning winner.

Walter is set to have Sunday’s $30,000 fillies and mares race named in his honour.

The ‘Emirates Park Guy Walter’ (1300m) has attracted a strong field and is a worthy prelude to the Cup itself which Walter has won multiple times.

But there is another memorial - overlooking the entrance of the raceday stables.

It features a plaque and tree that bears Walter’s name and his multiple achievement as “Goulburn Premier Trainer”.

It lays next to a memorial to fellow clubman Joe Medway, who also passed away this year.

“We lost two champion guys this year,” race club secretary Greg Wilson told the Post.

“For Guy, we chose the location so every trainer who enters and leaves the stables will be able to understand the connection between him and Goulburn.”

“He was an enormous part of Goulburn racing and he was a forerunner to all the trainers who are now coming from the city to educate their horses in the country like he did. And he planned on retiring here, I’m sure of it.”

John Bateman, Walter’s former foreman and now trainer, says the Goulburn Cup held a special place in Walter’s heart.

“It’s country racing and that’s what Guy was passionate about promoting,” he said.

“Plus this was his home track, and their biggest meet, so to win I think was very satisfying for him.”

Bateman says without Walter’s company this year, there will definitely be a noticeable gap in the Sunday’s meet.

“If Guy was here he would probably have 10 to 12 runners at this meeting,” he said.

“We would have found a horse that we knew would be competitive in the Goulburn Cup and would have probably of placed.

“Without his presence this year, it’s probably not as strong of a field as in previous years.”

However, Bateman and Wilson believe the big mile deserves Listed (Black Type) status.

Twelve city class gallopers line up for this year’s event, including Pythagorean from the yard of champion trainer Chris Waller.

“The Cup is getting the elevation to the right levels and that’s where we want to take it obviously,” Wilson said.

“Right now we qualify on every ground, it’s just the quality of the horse in the race.”

Bateman says the club deserves provincial status.

“The track’s good, the facilities are great, most other tracks don’t have nothing like this,” he argued.

“We just need a bit of money to upgrade a few things, improve the track a little bit and I guarantee people would rather come here than to places like Newcastle which can be hard to get too. Goulburn has the capability of being the Randwick of country racing.”