Flemington Racecourse

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

Flemington Racecourse
Location	Flemington, Victoria
Coordinates	37°47′25″S 144°54′45″E / 37.79028°S 144.91250°E / -37.79028; 144.91250Coordinates: 37°47′25″S 144°54′45″E / 37.79028°S 144.91250°E / -37.79028; 144.91250
Owned by	Victoria Racing Club
Date opened	1840
Screened on	Seven Network
Course type	Flat Jumps steeplechase
Notable races	Melbourne Cup Victoria Derby LKS Mackinnon Stakes Emirates Stakes Newmarket Handicap Australian Cup
Official website

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

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 (1,200 m) straight known as 'the Straight Six.' The track has a circumference of 2,312 metres and a final straight of 450 metres for race distances over 1,200 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.^[1] 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 the famous 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.^[2] The work was commissioned to mark the Australian bicentenary in 1988.

Flemington Racecourse was added to the Australian National Heritage List on 7 November 2006,^[3] announced during the 2006 Melbourne Cup.^[4]

The site is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. ^[5]

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.

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 and 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 racecourse. Lift access is available in the Prince of Wales Stand and to the first floor of the Members Stand.

Races

The following is a list of Group races which are run at Flemington Racecourse.^[6]

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	Black Caviar Lightning	Open	Open	wfa	1000	February
1	Cantala Stakes/Emirates Stakes	Open	Open	hcp	1600	November
1	Myer Classic	3YO+	F&M	wfa	1600	November
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
2	Salinger Stakes	Open	Open	hcp	1200	November
1	The Age Classic	Open	Open	wfa	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	Gilgai Stakes	Open	Open	sw+p	1200	October
2	Hilton International 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	Aurie's Star Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1200	August
3	Thoroughbred 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	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	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	C S Hayes Stakes	3YO	C&G	sw+p	1400	February
3	The Vanity^[7]	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
L	VRC St Leger Stakes	3YO	Open	sw+p	2800	April

Key

hcp - handicap
qlty - quality handicap
sw - set weights
sw+p - set weights with penalties
wfa - Weight for Age

Gallery

180 degree panorama of the racecourse

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 100,000 and more — but nobody's counting
↑ Insight into a nation's track record
↑ Flemington Racecourse National Heritage Listing
↑ Flemington now a National Treasure
↑ "Flemington Racecourse, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H2220", Victorian Heritage Database (Heritage Victoria), retrieved 16 September 2010
↑ Australian Group races
↑ The Vanity 2008 result

External links

Victoria Racing Club - official website
Flemington Racecourse at Austadiums

v t e Racing Venues in Melbourne

Present	Caulfield Racecourse Flemington Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse Sandown Racecourse

Closed	Aspendale Racecourse

Greyhound venues	Arden Street Oval (former) Sandown Park (current)

Harness venues	Moonee Valley Racecourse Tabcorp Park

v t e Landmarks in the Melbourne City Centre

Note: this includes landmarks in the Melbourne City Centre and its fringe areas, not the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area

City precincts	Arts Precinct Chinatown Docklands Government Precinct Greek Precinct Little Italy Paris End RMIT City Southbank/Wharf Sports and Entertainment Precinct University of Melbourne

Shopping	Block Arcade Bourke Street Bridge Road Brunswick Street Chapel Street Collins Street DFO South Wharf Elizabeth Street Flinders Lane Docklands Harbour Town Little Collins Street Melbourne Central Shopping Centre Myer Emporium Queen Victoria Market Queen Victoria Village Royal Arcade Swanston Street

Entertainment	Colonial Tramcar Restaurant Princess Theatre Regent Theatre Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex Luna Park Melbourne Visitor Shuttle Melbourne Zoo Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium See also: Events in the Melbourne City Centre Theatres in the Melbourne City Centre

Public galleries	Australian Centre for Contemporary Art Australian Centre for the Moving Image National Gallery of Victoria, inc. Ian Potter Centre State Library of Victoria's Cowen Gallery, Dome Gallery and Murdoch Gallery RMIT Gallery See also: Museums in the Melbourne City Centre

Institutions	General Post Office Government House Melbourne Observatory Melbourne Town Hall Old Melbourne Gaol Old Melbourne Mint Old Melbourne Magistrates' Court Old Treasury Building Parliament House State Library of Victoria Supreme Court of Victoria Victoria Barracks

Structures	Arts Centre Eureka Tower Coop's Shot Tower Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Rialto Towers Royal Exhibition Building Shrine of Remembrance Melbourne Star St Paul's Cathedral

Sports stadiums	Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (AAMI Park) Docklands Stadium (Etihad Stadium) Flemington Racecourse Melbourne Multi Purpose Venue (Hisense Arena) Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) Lakeside Stadium Medibank Icehouse Olympic Park Stadium Rod Laver Arena Royal Melbourne Golf Club Princes Park (Visy Park)

Parks and spaces	Albert Park and Lake Alexandra Gardens Birrarung Marr Carlton Gardens City Square Federation Square Fitzroy Gardens Flagstaff Gardens Kings Domain Queen Victoria Gardens Royal Botanic Gardens Royal Park Treasury Gardens Yarra Park

Transport	Bolte Bridge Capital City Trail City Circle Tram CityLink Flinders Street Station Melbourne Airport Melbourne Seaport Southern Cross railway station Trams in Melbourne West Gate Bridge

See also: Events in the Melbourne City Centre Museums in the Melbourne City Centre Theatres in the Melbourne City Centre

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