DAN Costello sadly passed away in the palliative care section of Redcliffe Hospital on Tuesday 11/8/26, and the decision has subsequently been made by his widow, Gitana, to publicly list for sale all of the racing and sporting memorabilia that Dan had collected over the last few decades, which he had spent as a thoroughbred and harness racing photographer and journalist.
Courtesy of the Costello’s great friend, PHIL PURSER, here is the complete list of Dan’s racing and sporting memorabilia which is available for immediate purchase. Gitana’s instruction is that “any reasonable offer made for any of the memorabilia will be accepted”.
Please note that all photos listed below are UNFRAMED – unless otherwise noted.
1 x FRAMED photo of the race colours worn by 6 different Magic Millions 2YO winners, namely Snippets 1987, Brave Warrior 1994, General Nediym 1997, Testa Rossa 1999, Excellerator 2001 and Dance Hero 2004. Underneath each one is a small gold plaque, stating the respective jockey and trainer of each winner. It is 1380cm long by 485cm wide – and is framed and ready to hang. For the record, each of the individual race colours squares is 175cm long and 235cm wide.
1 x A young James McDonald returning to scale signed print, with the wording “To Dan nice shot”. It is 420 long and 295 wide.
1 x Black Caviar winning – signed by Luke Nolen with the wording “Dan best wishes”. It is 415 long and 290 wide.
5 x “Harness Racing Half A Century” 1959-2009 Interdominion winners. It’s a print that was originally put out by harness racing stud – Alabar Farms. They are large prints, measuring 830 long x 590 wide, and feature a plethora of photos of Inter Dominion winners, as well as the photos of the respective trainer and/or owner of some of the winning horses from across that 50-year timeframe.
1 x Black Caviar winning the BTC Cup 2011 (unsigned). It’s 505 long and 400 wide.
4 x Gloaming prints – all are numbered. It was a limited-edition print. Gloaming won 19 races in a row. They are 860 long x 525 wide.
1 x Chris Munce large print 680 long x 510 wide. It’s a close-up head-shot of Chris returning to scale. (unsigned)
1 x “In The Company of Champions” which is a painting of many of Queensland’s top riders in the jockey’s room – Mick Dittman, Michael Pelling, Neil Williams, Tony Erhart, Larry Olsen, Cyril Small, Brian York and so on. It’s a big print that is 930 long x 695 wide.
1 x “Great Moments in Sport Number 1 of a series” and it’s of Australia’s famous Triple Dead-Heat of 1956 in the Hotham Handicap (Pandie Son, Ark Royal and Fighting Force). It’s 730 long x 485 wide.
1 x Carbine print with the wording: “Age 5, ridden by R. Ramage. One of the two greatest horses to ever win a Melbourne Cup”. It’s 310 long x 298 wide.
1 x FRAMED photo 305 long x 215 wide of AFL. It’s entitled “Champions of the game Ted Whitten.”
1 x Kibbutz print, of that horse winning the 2007 Victoria Derby. It’s signed by David Hayes and Craig Williams and comes with a certificate of authenticity to the signatories. It’s 200 long x 250 wide.
2 x bookmaker boards, each can take up to 20-horse names. They feature pre-decimal pricing of 6/4, 11/8 etcetera, plus there’s one bookmaker’s front staffer satchel from “Les Bullock”. These bookmaker boards would be Ideal for a man cave, or pool room, etcetera, and the new owner could put the names of their favourite 20 horses in it, and frame a market on the pretext that they all clashed in a race, or list the last 20 Melbourne Cup or Inter Dominion winners – and so forth and so on.
1 x Glen Boss and Alfie Langer together. It’s 215 long and 150 wide. (unsigned)
5 X Takeover Target winning in Melbourne signed by Jay Ford. They are 300 long x 200 wide.
1 x Rough Habit winning in Brisbane ridden by the late Gary Palmer. It’s signed by trainer John Wheeler with the wording “All the best Dan – Wheels”.
1 x T-shirt specially printed and emblazoned with the wording “Laffit & Shoe World’s Winningest JOCKEYS Emerald Downs”. It’s signed by both Willie Shoemaker (who at the time had ridden the most winners of any jockey in the world) and Laffit Pincay (who broke Shoemaker’s world record a decade later).
1 x golf ball in pristine condition. It’s signed by Gary Player with a certificate of authenticity for the signature of Gary Player.
1 x Greg Norman photo 255 long x 205 wide signed by Greg Norman with the wording “Play Hard”. (Please note the “H” in the word “Hard” has a smudge).
1 x print signed by Craig Lowndes, of Craig in a Ford signed with the wording, “To Dan all the best”. It’s 305 long and 200 wide.
1 x boxing photo of Mike Tyson with promoter Don King and another boxer who I can’t identify. It’s unsigned.
Numerous racebooks – THESE WILL ONLY BE SOLD AS ONE LOT FOR $100 NO OFFERS and will be posted anywhere within Australia for that price. They feature racebooks from the 2005 Melbourne Cup, 2005 Melbourne Cup Carnival Passport, 2006 Golden Slipper (unopened and in sealed clear plastic), the 2007 Victoria Derby official souvenir racebook, 2 x 2007 Melbourne Cup official souvenir racebook, and one of the two is in a sealed plastic cover that has never been opened, 2009 Golden Slipper Day, and last but not least, the last Brisbane Amateur Turf Club race book printed for thoroughbred racing on the Albion Park sand track from “Wednesday 30th December 1981”. The only aforementioned racebook that has a mark on it, is the Albion Park one, which has the winner of each race at the meeting marked – with the number one, inside a circle.
1 x Black Caviar The Greatest Sprinter In The World featuring her hitting the finish line in each of her first 20 wins. It comes with a comprehensive list of those 20 wins (dates and what the respective race was). It also contains 20 x 60-cent stamps, which was the price of posting a standard letter back then. It was originally issued by Australia Post. IT IS $50 NO OFFERS – free postage to anywhere in Australia.
1 x Black Caviar winning the 2011 BTC Cup (unsigned). It’s 505 x 400.
4 x Makybe Diva winning photo (unsigned). They are 305 x 200. Plus 4 of Glen Boss (unsigned) – 2 of him holding the Melbourne Cup and 2 when he’s dismounted after winning the Melbourne Cup. The 4 photos of Glen Boss are 150 x 200.
1 x Craig Lowndes signed print. Craig’s driving a Ford and it’s signed with the wording “To Dan all the best”.
1 x Australian Racing Hall of Fame official program signed by 2001 Australian Hall of Fame inductee – Scobie Breasley. It comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
1 x Mr Innocent, ridden by Mick Dittman heading to the barrier. It’s signed by Mr Innocent’s trainer, Mal Gerrard, with the wording “Good luck Mal Gerrard”. (Mr Innocent won the Group 1 Doomben 10000 in the Year 2000 under Glen Colless).
1 x “The Racing Greyhound. Common problems and muscle injuries. Points of the greyhound”. It’s 485 x 715.
1 x the original stud stable sign that stood above Agricola’s stallion barn door. It’s 920 x 385. (a wonderful middle-distance and staying influence, Agricola produced such top-class Australian gallopers as Lowland, General Command, Roman Consul, El Gordo, Farmer’s Daughter, etcetera, which all won what are now Group 1 races).
1 x set of “Action Playing Cards” – Series 1 1st of August 1988 to 1st of July 1989. (The seven of clubs is missing from the set).
All genuine inquiries can be made to Phil Purser on 0438788114 between 8am and 8pm daily. Any large items such as the bookmaker boards, or the Magic Millions 2YO framed photo, can be delivered free of charge by me within a 100-kilometre range of Ipswich, or if the purchaser is attending Dan’s memorial service at Albion Park next Sunday afternoon (30/8/26) at 2pm – I can deliver them to the purchaser at that service. If any potential buyer would like a photo of any specific item emailed directly to their email address, that can be done for you also.
Please note that 100% of all proceeds from the sale of the above items is to go directly into Dan’s widow’s bank account, to assist her financially into the future.
