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The Major Race Clubs and Carnivals in each State and Territory are as follows:
Victoria
The showpiece carnival in Australia is the Melbourne Spring Carnival. Group 1 racing starts from Moonee Valley in mid-September and follows through to Caulfield in mid-October, where the Melbourne Racing Club’s 4-day carnival is highlighted by the running of the $3million Caulfield Cup. A week later, “Australasia’s Weight For Age Championship” is run at Moonee Valley – the $3million W.S. Cox Plate – whose recent list of winners includes Might And Power, Sunline, Northerly and Makybe Diva. All attention then turns to Flemington for the Victoria Racing Club’s 4-day Melbourne Cup Carnival, which starts with five Group 1 races on Derby Day – regarded as the greatest single day in Australian racing, headlined by the $1.5million Victoria Derby. Then it’s the first Tuesday in November, for the running of the $5million Melbourne Cup, usually in front of about 120,000 fans. Makybe Diva made history in 2005 when she became the first horse ever to win the race three times. Two days later and Australia’s best three-year-old fillies do battle in the $1million VRC Oaks – again, with the crowd exceeding 100,000. The carnival is rounded out with Stakes Day – exactly one week after Victoria Derby day. Melbourne’s autumn carnival, through February and March, is more low key than the spring, but still contains a number of Group 1 races, including the first leg of the Global Sprint series, with the Lightning Stakes at Flemington. Other autumn highlights include the $1million Australian Cup (SWFA, 2000m), $1million Blue Diamond Stakes (2yo, 1200m) and sire-shaping $750,000 Australian Guineas (3yo, 1600m). New South Wales
Like Melbourne, Sydney features Group 1 racing in both the spring and autumn. The spring features precede the big races in Melbourne, with five Group 1 races run at Royal Randwick racecourse over two Saturdays, highlighted by the time honoured $600,000 Epsom Handicap. But by far the highest profile racing in the Harbour City happens in the autumn. The Sydney Turf Club’s Rosehill Gardens racecourse holds the spotlight in the first instance, with the World’s richest race for Two-Year-olds, the $3million Golden Slipper, the showpiece. Slipper Day now features five Group 1 races in total, including the $2.2M BMW (2400m). A week after the Slipper, attention shifts to Randwick, with the Easter Saturday boasting a stellar line up of black type racing, highlighted by the $2million AJC Australian Derby and $2M AJC Doncaster Handicap. Derby Day is the first of four days of Group 1 racing at Randwick. On Easter Monday, the $2million Doncaster Handicap (1600m) is run and then followed two days later by the Group 1 $700,000 AJC Australian Oaks. The AJC carnival is rounded out with the running of four Group 1 races on the final day, highlighted by the $800,000 Sydney Cup (3200m). Queensland
Further north and to Queensland that has its major carnival during May-June. Feature races include the big ‘sprint double’ of the $650,000 Group 1 BTC Doomben 10,000 (1350m) and $1million QTC Stradbroke Handicap (1400m). The Stradbroke is run at Eagle Farm and two days later the Queensland Turf Club holds the $500,000 Brisbane Cup. In more recent times, Queensland has also come under the spotlight in January. With the Magic Millions company holding its annual January Yearling Sale, the Gold Coast Turf Club hosts a multi million dollar race day devoted entirely to graduates of Magic Millions sales. First run in 1987, the $1.5m Magic Millions Classic has become one of the most prestigious races in Australia for two-year-olds. South Australia
Adelaide traditionally ran its 3200m Cup in May, but in 2006 switched to a March date. The Group 1 $300,000 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) for fillies and mares, is also run at Morphettville during March. The May carnival still features races like the Group 1 $325,000 South Australian Derby and Group 1 $300,000 Goodwood Handicap. Another notable date in South Australia is the Easter long weekend, where thousands of people flock to the Adelaide Hills for the Oakbank carnival, which comprises both flat and jumps racing. Western Australia
In Western Australia, the carnival begins in late November and continues through summer, with feature races including the Group 1 $750,000 Railway Handicap and Group 1 $760,000 Fruit ‘N’ Veg Stakes (1800m). The Group 2 Perth Cup (3200m) is traditionally run on New Year’s Day at Ascot racecourse in front of a capacity crowd. Tasmania
Tasmania’s February racing carnival has also grown in stature in recent times, with the running of the Hobart and Launceston Cups (both Group 3 events). Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is not recognized for racing excellence, but its Darwin Cup meeting (run on the first Monday in August) has become one of the great tourist destinations for racing fans from all over Australia. Happy to escape the chilly winters of the south, Darwin always serves up beautiful, sunny, 30 degree days at this time of the year and Fannie Bay racecourse now hosts more than 20,000 guests on Cup day each year. |
