Australian Horse Racing Tracks

<h2>Australian Horse Racing Tracks</h2> <p>Horse racing has been part of Australian life since the early days of settlement, but it began to flourish when the rush for gold hit like a fever in the mid-1800s.&nbsp;</p> <p>In Australia, in the 2021-22 racing season, there were 2525 race meetings at 315 different Australian race tracks, catering for more than 34,000 horses in 18,917 races&nbsp; (Racing Australia Fact Book 2022).</p> <p>Australia’s race tracks are spread far and wide, and the contrast is enormous – from the dusty red dirt of the Western Australia’s Kimberley tracks at Broome and Wyndham to the rose-filled spacious lawns Flemington in Victoria – racing has its place in Australian culture and folklore.</p> <p>Below is a summary of Australia’s premier race tracks, metropolitan and regional.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Sydney Race Tracks</h2> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/randwick">Randwick Racecourse (right-handed)</a></p> <p>Randwick – or Royal Randwick as it is officially known – is one of Australia’s most famous race tracks, positioned just outside the south-east edge of Sydney’s metropolitan area. Randwick, Australia’s oldest race track, is steeped in history having conducted its first race meeting in 1833.</p> <p>It was given the “Royal” decree after Queen Elizabeth II visited Randwick race track in 1992.&nbsp;</p> <p>Randwick, with its sweeping home turn, has a circumference of 2224 metres, and a straight of 410 metres, which gives every horse a chance. Randwick racecourse is known for its famous “miles”, the Doncaster Handicap in the autumn and the Epsom Handicap in the spring.</p> <p>Randwick racecourse hosts 20 Group 1 races as well as the world’s richest turf race, The Everest, a 1200m sprint run in October.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/rosehill">Rosehill Gardens Racecourse&nbsp;</a></p> <p>Simply referred to as Rosehill, the racecourse is 23kms west of Sydney, near Parramatta. The first race meeting was held at Rosehill in 1885.</p> <p>Rosehill, which has a circumference of 2048 metres and a straight of 408 metres, is famous for the running of the world’s richest race for two-year-olds, the Group 1 Golden Slipper.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/randwick">Randwick-Kensington Racecourse</a></p> <p>The Kensington race track is set inside the Randwick course. It has a circumference of 2100m and a straight of 401m. The turf is an all-weather Strathayr construction with a sandy base. Kensington hosts midweek meetings.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/canterbury">Canterbury Racecourse</a></p> <p>Canterbury racecourse – first meeting in 1884 – is located in the inner west of Sydney, 12km from the CBD. It is the home of night racing in NSW and also conducts midweek meetings.</p> <p>Canterbury is the smallest of Sydney’s race tracks with a circumference of 1567m and a straight of 308m.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/warwick-farm">Warwick Farm Racecourse</a></p> <p>Warwick Farm, set in Sydney’s south-west, 30kms from the CBD, held its first race meeting in 1889, but the first meeting held there under the control of the Australian Jockey Club (now the ATC) was in 1925.</p> <p>Warwick Farm is a major training centre. Its circumference is 1937m, with a straight run of 326m.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Melbourne Race Tracks</h2> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/flemington">Flemington Racecourse</a></p> <p>Flemington, positioned on the banks of the Maribyrnong River, is only 8kms from Melbourne’s CBD. The host club is the Victoria Racing Club.</p> <p>Flemington, Australia’s most famous race track, hosts Australia’s most famous horse race, the Melbourne Cup (3200m), which was first run in 1861 – 21 years after Flemington won its first race meeting.</p> <p>The circumference of the Flemington racecourse is 2312m and the straight from home turn is 450m. Flemington also conducts straight racing over distances of 1000m to 1200m. The course is flat and spacious.</p> <p>The famous Melbourne Cup meeting is held over eight days with four meetings. The Cup is traditionally run on the first Tuesday in November.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/caulfield">Caulfield Racecourse</a></p> <p>Racing began at Caulfield in 1859. Racing is hosted by the Melbourne Racing Club.</p> <p>Caulfield is perfectly positioned on a main railway line 11kms from Melbourne’s CBD. The circumference of the main track is 2080m, the straight is 367m.</p> <p>In 2023, an inside track was developed for night racing in 2024 and beyond.</p> <p>Caulfield is a tightish track that has a tricky run uphill from the 1400m and 1600m starts.</p> <p>The famous Caulfield Cup, first held in 1879, is run in October.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/moonee-valley">Moonee Valley Racecourse</a></p> <p>The only racecourse wholly owned by its controlling club, the Moonee Valley Racing Club.</p> <p>Moonee Valley – recently referred by the club as The Valley – is as its name suggests, set in a valley at Moonee Ponds in the inner north-west of Melbourne.</p> <p>Moonee Valley is famous for hosting one of Australia’s great races, the W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) – first run in 1925 – which considered Australia’s weight-for-age championship.</p> <p>Moonee Valley is Melbourne’s tightest racetrack with a circumference of 1805m, and a straight of only 173m.</p> <p>Moonee Valley will undergo a complete revamp in late 2025, with the current grandstand to be demolished for apartments, and the finish line moved to what is now the 400m position.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/sandown">Sandown Racecourse</a></p> <p>Sandown racecourse is Melbourne’s youngest metro racetrack. The first meeting was held there, in Melbourne’s east in 1965. The controlling club is the Melbourne Racing Club.</p> <p>The hilly Sandown racecourse has two tracks, sharing a wide home straight with a testing uphill run.</p> <p>The Hillside track: circumference of 2097m; straight 491m.</p> <p>The Lakeside track: circumference of 1891m; straight 407m.</p> <p>Sandown racecourse hosts most of its meetings during Melbourne’s winter and during midweek.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Brisbane Race Tracks</h2> <p>Intriguingly Brisbane’s two metropolitan race tracks, both located in the inner north of the Brisbane CBD in Ascot, are separated by a road.</p> <p>There 98 race meetings held annually shared between the two tracks.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/eagle-farm">Eagle Farm Racecourse</a></p> <p>Eagle Farm is run by the Brisbane Racing Club. Racing began at Eagle Farm in 1865.&nbsp;</p> <p>Eagle Farm is the more spacious of the two Brisbane race tracks. It has a circumference of 2027m, and a length straight of 434m.</p> <p>Eagle Farm hosts Brisbane’s most important race, the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m), held in June during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, when the Queensland Derby and Queensland Oaks are also run at the Farm.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/doomben">Doomben Racecourse</a></p> <p>Doomben racecourse opened in 1933. It is under the control of the Brisbane Racing Club.</p> <p>The tricky Doomben racecourse seems to suit certain horses who handle the tight turns and short run home. For example, the sprinter Chief De Beers became a cult hero for his ability to relish Doomben. The Chief – the King of Doomben – won 20 races in a 51 start career in the mid-1990s, and ALL his wins were at Doomben.</p> <p>The most important races run at Doomben are the Doomben 10,000 (1200m) and the Doomben Cup (2020m).</p> <p>Doomben dimensions: Circumference 1715m; straight 350m</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Adelaide Race Tracks</h2> <p>The closure of two of Adelaide’s race tracks – Victoria Park and Cheltenham – has left the South Australian Jockey Club with one racecourse, Morphettville, with a main track and a small track inside.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/morphettville">Morphettville Racecourse</a></p> <p>Morphettville is positioned 10kms west of the Adelaide CBD. The first meeting was held there in 1876.</p> <p>Morphettville is a long, flat racecourse of 2307m with a straight of 334m.</p> <p>The secondary track, Morphettville Parks, which was opened in 2009, has a circumference of 2100m, and a straight of 305m.</p> <p>Morphettville hosts the G2 Adelaide Cup (3200m) and the G1 South Australian Derby in May.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Perth Race Tracks</h2> <p>Perth metropolitan racing is conducted at two tracks, Ascot and Belmont, both situated close to Perth’s CBD on the Swan River. The meetings are held by the West Australian Turf Club.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/ascot">Ascot Racecourse</a></p> <p>Ascot is the main racecourse in Perth, famous for its Summer Carnival when it conducts Perth’s three Group 1 races – Railway Stakes (1600m), Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) and Kingston Town Stakes (1800m).</p> <p>Ascot held its first official meeting in 1852. The first Perth Cup was held there in 1887.</p> <p>The circumference of Ascot is 2200m, with a shortish straight of 300m. Ascot races every week from October to April.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/belmont">Belmont Racecourse</a></p> <p>Belmont racecourse, with its wide course proper, conducts winter racing in Perth from May to September.</p> <p>The Belmont racecourse might be wide, but it isn’t long. The circumference is 1699m with a straight of 333m.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Darwin Race Tracks</h2> <p><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/darwin">Fannie Bay Racecourse</a></p> <p>Fannie Bay, positioned only 10 minutes from Darwin, is the home of the Darwin Turf Club. The club held its first race meeting at the track in 1955.</p> <p>The Darwin Cup (2050m) is held in August. Fannie Bay is a unique Australian race track with a mixture of sand and oil. Distances range from 900m to 2050m.</p> <p>Circumference: 1780m</p> <p>Straight: 340m</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Regional Australian Race Tracks</h2> <p>There are 299 regional Australian race tracks. These are graded as provincial (high graded racing), country (generally more than an hour’s drive from the state capital) and picnic.</p> <p>The home-town cup, no matter what the class of horse, is an annual event in many of Australia’s country towns.</p> <p>Some are almost metropolitan quality and they conduct brilliant race meetings on outstanding turf surfaces in front of big local crowds. Some of the premier regional tracks include Newcastle (NSW), Cranbourne (Victoria), Murray Bridge (South Australia), Bunbury (Western Australia) and the Gold Coast (Queensland).</p> <p>In Victoria, regular summer night racing is held on Thursday and Friday at Cranbourne and Pakenham. In October 2023, two clubs announced plans to merge to form a Super Club.</p> <p>In recent times, regional tracks such as Hawkesbury, Geelong, Bendigo, Murray Bridge and the Gold Coast have held metropolitan class meetings.&nbsp;</p> <p>The famous Magic Millions race day, held at the Gold Coast in January, with more than $10 million in prize money is one of Australia’s great race meetings that attracts international visitors.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>If you are interested in a bet on Australian race tracks, click <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/punter-iq/guide/how-to-bet-on-horses-a-horse-racing-betting-guide">here</a> for our guide on How To Bet On Horse Racing.</p>