Tag Archives: track
Flemington Racecourse, Home of the Melbourne Cup
Flemington is definitely Australias best known racecourse as it is home of the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops a nation.
Flemington in central Melbourne is where races were held in 1840, on the river flats of the Maribyrnong River. At the time, Melbourne was a town barely five years old and just starting to boom, largely due to the gold strikes in nearby Bendigo and Ballarat. Flemington then developed along with Melbourne.
Flemington is Australias oldest race course, and in 2006 was placed on the National Heritage List. Located just 15 minutes from Melbournes CBD, Flemington is firmly on the tourist map, although many tourists come to see the famous rose gardens rather than the horses! Flemington is serviced to this day by special race trains on big race days, and Melbournes famous trams at other times. Flemington is a big centre for training, with many of Australias best known horse trainers maintaining stables at or near the Flemington course
The history of Flemington is synonymous with the history of the Melbourne Cup. The Cup was first held at the course in 1861, and has been held ever since on the first Tuesday of November. The Melbourne Cup is the best known race of Flemingtons Spring Carnival, which runs over eight days. Other feature races are the AJ McKinnon Stakes, the Victoria Derby and the Victoria Oaks.
The Flemington track has an unusual feature called the “straight six” where horses race down a straight 1200m (six furlongs) section of track which then joins the track proper.
The modern day Flemington track bears little resemblance to the original rough and ready track, which brought rich and poor together in the gold rush days. The early track had no barriers and few facilities. However, the long term success of the Melbourne Cup has seen the Victoria Racing Club invest heavily in the Flemington track. Today Flemington boasts a capacity of over 120,000 and three grandstands. The newest stand cost $45 million and opened in 2000. The Hill Stand was built in 1977. Notable art works displayed in the stands include a bronze statue of the famous horse Phar Lap, and a seven panel mural by Harold Freedman, which illustrates the history of racing.
As soon as the Melbourne Cup of 2006 was run and won, the entire track surface was ripped up and replaced for the first time in Flemingtons history. Racing did not resume at Flemington until September 2007.
Even in the early days, the Melbourne Cup became as well known for its social party atmosphere as for the racing and betting. Today, Flemington is as much home to fashion in the field events in Australia as Ascot is in England.
Flemington markets itself as a destination for much more than racing. The Flemington Event Centre is a premier spot to host a wedding in the rose gardens, a sophisticated cocktail party or a trendy product launch. However, at the end of the day, Flemington racecourse will always be the home of the Melbourne Cup.
Brisbane Turf Club A Long History
The Brisbane Turf Club has been a premier Queensland racing club since it was incorporated in 1923. Based at Doomben Racecourse, the Brisbane Turf Club has come a long way since those early days at “the creek” when it was a swampy marsh, and now its the trotting venue, Albion Park racecourse. As of 2009, the name Brisbane Turf Club ceases to exist, so read on for the history of this well-known Queensland club.
The beginnings of the Brisbane Turf Club were when G.M. Dash, Barney Joyce and Allan Oxlade bought Albion Park in 1922, from its former owner John Wren. The following year, this consortium formed the Brisbane Amateur Turf Club as the club was originally called.
Only a decade later, the young club expanded by buying the land, which would become the Doomben Racecourse which was opened in 1933. Located 7.5km north of Brisbanes CBD in the suburb of Ascot, Doomben is known as the Garden Racecourse because of its natural beauty.
The Doomben Course was closed during World War II, and US troops were billeted there during the Pacific War. Afterwards, for the last sixty years, the Brisbane Turf Club has built the track up to be one of Queenslands best-known horse racing venues. In 1946, on the reopening of the track, the TM Ahern (now the Carlton Draught Doomben 10,000) and the Doomben Cups (now the XXXX Doomben Cup) were first run. The Doomben Cup is now considered one of the best middle distance races in Australian racing.
In 1982 the Club sold its original course, Ascot Park, in order to fund significant expansion of what is now the world-class Doomben Racecourse. The turf track is a clockwise course with a circumference of 1715 metres with a 350 metre straight.
Other notable dates in the Clubs history were the introduction of the Queensland Horse of the Year Award in 1971, and the extension of membership to women in 1980. It was not until 2001 that the Club was incorporated.
In 2009 comes the biggest change of all for Brisbane Turf Club. On 1 July 2009 the Club merged with long time rival Queensland Turf Club to become the Brisbane Racing Club. The difficulty of running two major racing organisations in a city the size of Brisbane has seen the economic necessity of the two organizations combining resources. For punters, nothing will change, however, as they will still be able to watch their favourite horses and place their racing bets at either the Eagle Farm or Doomben courses.
Although some might say that Brisbane Turf Club is finished, it appears that the Brisbane Racing Club will be a more than worthy successor. The new Club has announced a $10.2 billion master redevelopment plan for both racecourses over the next ten years. Not only will new grandstands be built and new trackside facilities and stables developed, but also substantial new car parking and there is even talk of boutique hotels and apartments on the course.
The Brisbane Turf Club has passed; long live the Brisbane Racing Club!