Flemington Racecourse

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This article is about the racecourse. For the railway station, please see Flemington Racecourse railway station, Melbourne.

Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is Australia's richest horse race. The racecourse is situated on low alluvial flats, next to the Maribyrnong River. The area was first used for horse racing in March, 1840.

1 Overview
2 Transport
3 Races
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Overview

The Flemington Racecourse site comprises 1.27 square kilometres of Crown land. The course was originally leased to the Victoria Turf Club in 1848, which merged with the Victoria Jockey Club in 1864 to form the Victoria Racing Club. The first Melbourne Cup was run in 1861. In 1871 the Victoria Racing Club Act was passed, giving the VRC legal control over Flemington Racecourse.

The racecourse is shaped not unlike a pear, and boasts a six-furlong (1200 metre) straight known as 'the Straight Six.' The track has a circumference of 2312 metres and a final straight of 450 metres for race distances over 1200 metres. Races are run in an anti-clockwise direction.

The course has a crowd capacity of over 120,000 and contains three grandstands. The biggest ever attendance was on VRC Derby Day in 2006 when 129,089 people saw Efficient win the VRC Derby. The racecourse has undergone a facelift in recent years, with the opening of a new $45 million grandstand in 2000. It also contains a bronze statue of famous Australian racehorse Phar Lap, which was donated to the Club as part of Australia's bicentenary celebrations in 1988. The Hill Stand, built in 1977, houses the artist Harold Freedman's seven panel mural which traces the History of Racing. The work was commissioned to mark the Australian bicentenary in 1988.

During the Melbourne Cup 2006 it was announced [1] that Flemington Racecourse is now a National Heritage Site joining other sites such as the Sydney Opera House and Ayres Rock.

Flemington Racecourse today hosts many of Australia's top races, including the Melbourne Cup, VRC Derby, VRC Oaks, MacKinnon Stakes, Newmarket Handicap, Australian Cup and Lightning Stakes.

[edit] Transport

The site has its own railway branch line, which operates on race days, bringing visitors to the adjacent railway station. Originally, it was serviced by Salt Water River station, before that was demolished in the 1860s and replaced with a station on the present site. Trains depart from platforms 8 and 9 at Flinders Street Station. The No. 57 tram from the City (Elizabeth & Flinders Streets) stops at the Epsom Road entrance.

Car spaces for the disabled are available and taxi ranks are located adjacent to the main entrances. Shuttle buses run from Epsom Road to the main turnstiles of the racecource. Lift access is available in the Prince of Wales Stand and to the first floor of the Members Stand.

[edit] Races

The following is a list of Group races which are run at Flemington Racecourse.

Grp	Race Name	Age	Sex	Weight	Distance	Date
1	Ascot Vale Stakes	3YO	Open	sw	1200	November
1	Australian Cup	Open	Open	wfa	2000	March
1	Australian Guineas/Cadbury Guineas	3YO	Open	sw	1600	February
1	Cantala Stakes/Emirates Stakes	Open	Open	hcp	1600	November
1	Myer Classic	3YO+	F&M	wfa	1600	November
1	Lightning Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1000	February`
1	LKS MacKinnon Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	2000	November
1	Melbourne Cup	Open	Open	hcp	3200	November
1	Newmarket Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1200	March
1	Salinger Stakes	Open	Open	hcp	1200	November
1	Turnbull Stakes	4YO+	Open	sw+p	2000	October
1	Victoria Derby	3YO	Open	sw	2500	November
1	VRC Oaks/Crown Oaks	3YO	Fillies	sw	2500	November
2	A.V Kewney Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw	1600	March
2	Blamey Stakes	3YO+	Open	sw+p	1600	March
2	Craiglee Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1600	September
2	Edward Manifold Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw	1600	October
2	Linlithgow Stakes/Lexus Classic	Open	Open	wfa	1200	November
2	Matriach Stakes	4YO+	Mares	hcp	2000	November
2	Rose Of Kingston Stakes	4YO+	Mares	sw+p	1400	October
2	VRC Sires' Produce Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1400	March
2	Wakeful Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw+p	2000	November
3	Baguette Stakes	Open	Open	sw+p	1200	October
3	Bloodhorse Breeders Stakes	2YO	Fillies	sw+p	1200	March
3	Bobby Lewis Quality	Open	Open	qlty	1200	September
3	Chatham Stakes/Yallambee Stud Stakes	Open	Open	hcp	1400	November
3	Frances Tressady Stakes/Tooheys New Plate	4YO+	Mares	sw+p	1400	March
3	Hotham Handicap/Saab Quality	Open	Open	qlty	2500	November
3	Maribyrnong Plate	2YO	Open	sw+p	1000	November
3	Matron Stakes	4YO+	Mares	sw+p	1600	March
3	Milady Stakes/Let's Elope Stakes	4YO+	Mares	sw+p	1400	September
3	Rory's Jester Stakes	3YO	Open	sw+p	1200	November
3	Standish Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1200	January
3	The Debonair	3YO	C&G	sw+p	1400	February
3	The Vanity	3YO	Fillies	sw+p	1400	February
3	VRC Carbine Club Stakes	3YO	Open	sw+p	1600	November
3	VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	Open	Open	qlty	2500	November