History of Townsville Racecourse

The Townsville Racecourse, in North Queensland, is actually positioned about a thousand miles away from Brisbane.  It has a circumference of 1680 meters, with a home straight of 310 meters.  Racing is done in a clockwise fashion.  The track has 5 starting chutes, which are used for the different distances that the races have.  The track is run downhill starting at the 1000 meters chute and has sweeping turns, which make it ideal to overcome the lead horses. 

It is known as Cluden Park, and horse racing began there on August 15 through the 17th, 1866.  The events were overseen by the Flinders and Burdenham Race Club at the time.  The high light event of the early races that meet at Townsville Racecourse is the weight for age Town Plate, and has a distance of three miles.  The Townsville Turf Club was created in 1874, and to this day remains the overseeing body of all horse races in Townsville.  They held their first meeting in 1882 and the first Townsville Cup was ran in 1884.  The track has several picturesque gardens and makes for a wonderful sight seeing experience.

One of the starting chutes is devoted to 1000-metre races while another of the chutes is for 1200-metre races. The starting area for 1300-metre races in Townsville is located at the middle of the starting chutes for 1200 metres and 1400 metres. Another racing chute is for 1600-metre races while one chute is shared by 2000-metre races and 2200-metre races.  The track has become one of the biggest horse racing course in Northern Queensland, and was granted TAB status in 1994.

The Townsville Racecourse hosts around 30 racing events annual, with almost every month features at least two race meetings.  The most remarkable racing meet that is held at the Townsville Racecourse is the Townsville Cup, and it is held every July and attracts about 12,000 racing fans. The Townsville Cup is part of the Townsville Winter Racing Carnival and it has several non-racing activities in store as well.  Aside from the race action itself, Townsville Cup Day features the Fashions on the Field competition and the Ladies Race Day. The Townsville Cup has a race distance of 1960 metres and it experienced a dead heat when Sooth Sayer and Stage Shaker finished to a dead heat.

If you want to experience first class horse racing that won’t leave you disappointed, then you will want to check out the Townsville Racecourse!  For years it has been bringing in a steady stream of quality horses and has seen many memorable races over the years.  The racecourse is well known for its top of line facilities and gardens, it is your ideal location for all types of parties, including beautiful gardens for an alfresco atmosphere for ceremonies, cocktails, and garden parties.

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