Top 3 Australian Racecourses to visit
Australia has well over 360 racecourses to visit across the country, but if you are planning on visiting the very best of them, then you are best sticking to Melbourne and Sydney, which also hosts some of the biggest races on the sporting calendar.
Melbourne and Sydney have a rivalry going back many years and it’s no different when it comes to debating which city boasts the best tracks, with both having pros and cons to make them outweigh the other, depending on which you prefer.
For punters though, it’s often a case of which course provides them with the most winners. With that in mind, we’ll kick off with the most famous Australian racecourse of them all.
Flemington Racecourse
Home to the world famous Melbourne Cup, Flemington is one of the biggest race tracks in Australia and indeed the world.
Located in Melbourne, the racecourse plays host to the Spring Carnival every October/November, an event which has become a real social and sporting event for Australian’s and international visitors. This meeting is jam-packed with feature races including the Victoria Derby, VRC Oaks and of course, the Melbourne Cup itself.
In all, the Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington runs over a week with four different race days (Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday). The Victoria Derby and Melbourne Cup days traditionally attract the biggest crowds, with as many as 129,089 spectators packing into the course for the Derby in 2006, while the Melbourne Cup in 2003 had 122,736 punters on the track. It also attracts plenty of celebrities from around the globe often given invites to be in attendance on course.
Flemington is also the only course in Australia that contains straight racing. The 1200m straight has become increasingly popular with trainers, who can race their sprinters in a straight line, rather than around a bend, which sometimes reduces speed.
Flemington Racecourse also features the biggest grandstands of any Australian track, with thousands of seats available for VRC members and the general public across its three stands, including the relatively new world-class Club Stand.
Royal Randwick Racecourse
When it comes to going to watch horse racing in Sydney, then Royal Randwick is the place to be. Thanks to some impressive upgrades in facilities and spectator experience in recent years, Randwick is a force on the world stage and brings a real pride to the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
For the past couple of years, Randwick has been the venue for The Championships, which is a two-day meeting that is spread out over back-to-back Saturdays. There are plenty of top-quality races across the two days, including the Doncaster Handicap, Queen Elizabeth Stakes, TJ Smith Stakes, Australian Derby and the Australian Oaks.
The right-handed course is also home to the Country and Provincial Championship, which allow the smaller trainers and horses the chance to secure a victory on the big stage. While the crowds in Sydney aren’t as big as Melbourne, they are certainly just as passionate.
Moonee Valley Racecourse
As the first Australian racetrack to host both day and night thoroughbred racing, Moonee Valley offers a unique experience for racing fans in Australia and is a must visit for any sporting fan.
In terms of the racing, the biggest race that is held at the track is the Group 1 Cox Plate, which is considered as one of the best races on the planet and regularly attracts runners from all four corners of the globe. Some of Australia’s great racehorses have won the race, with Northerly, Winx and Sunline just some of the famous names that have won the Cox Plate.
The Valley is well known for its cauldron-like atmosphere with steep grandstands and a short home straight, with electric noise made by the crowd when up to 40,000 fans are packed in for the iconic Cox Plate. The course is set to undergo a major redevelopment in the near future which will see its stands replaced by new facilities and its track modified.
Betting on Australian Horse Racing
It’s important to do your research on the latest betting before heading to the races, and that means understanding the betting odds, markets and bookmakers that are available, so getting your hands on a horse racing betting guide is always a good idea.
A major part of horse racing across the world is betting, and Australia is no different with gambling on the horses available on all of the major meetings, including the Melbourne Cup, with online bookmakers offering odds on the big race for up to 12 months in advance.
Austadiums has a total of 13 horse racing venues listed – view them here.
