Aspendale Racecourse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aspendale Racecourse or Aspendale Park Racecourse was a horse racing and motor racing track located at Aspendale, Victoria, Australia.

Aspendale Racecourse opened on 14 April 1891. It was established by James Robert Crooke, horse trainer, who named the course after Aspen after one of his best horses who won the Newmarket Handicap twice 1880–81.

Garden landscaping was designed by William Guilfoyle, who was the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.

The track was situated east of the current Aspendale railway station and is believed to have been one mile (1.6 km) in length.

Robert Crooke was also a motoring enthusiast. In 1904, the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria held its first car rally at Aspendale Park. In 1906 a motor raceway was constructed, Australia’s "first commercial track". A banked track was constructed in 1923.

The last recorded horse race at Aspendale Park was on 29 July 1931. Motor racing continued until the late 1940s. The area is now residential housing.