The Geelong Racecourse is a major regional

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

venue in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The current racecourse dates to 1908. The annual

Geelong Cup The Geelong Cup is a Geelong Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race, held under handicap conditions over a distance of 2400 metres at the Geelong Racecourse, Geelong, Victoria, Australia on a Wednesday in late October. The prize money for ...

is held at the course every October, as well as a number of other race meets through the year.

History

The first race meet in Geelong was on 1 May 1841, at Corio. Three races were held on the day. The next meet was held at "Airey's Flat" on the banks the

Moorabool River The Moorabool River is a river in Victoria, Australia, that runs past several small towns and areas such as Meredith, Victoria, Meredith, Anakie, Victoria, Anakie, and Staughton Vale (north-west of Geelong). The river joins with the Barwon River ...

near

Fyansford Fyansford is a township on the western edge of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, named after Captain Foster Fyans who came to Geelong as a Police magistrate in October, 1837. It is located at the junction of the Barwon River (Vi ...

. In 1849, a start was made on a proper racecourse, with of land beside the Barwon River at

Marshalltown Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

chosen. Situated close to

Lake Connewarre Lake Connewarre ( Aboriginal Wathawurrung language: ''Kunawarr keelingk'' literally meaning ''black swan lake''), a shallow estuarine lake on the Barwon River, is located on the Bellarine Peninsula southeast of Geelong in the Australian state ...

, the land was subject to frequent flooding. The

Geelong Racing Club Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

was formed in 1866, holding its first meet on 18 and 19 January 1866. 23 February 1872 saw the first

held at the Marshalltown course, where a new

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

was opened. A

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

branch line was provided to the course in 1878. In 1907, it was decided to relocate the Geelong Racecourse and

Geelong Showgrounds The Geelong Showgrounds in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, are the home of the Royal Geelong Show, an agricultural show held every year since 1855. The current showgrounds are located in the suburb of Breakwater. The focus of the Royal Geelong S ...

to their current site on Breakwater Road,

East Geelong East Geelong is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , East Geelong had a population of 3,862. The post office opened on 6 June 1921. An earlier Post Office dating from 1871 was later renamed Moolap West. The 81-hect ...

. The first race meeting was held at the new venue in March 1908, with the first Geelong Racing Club meet being held there on 12 December 1908. The

Geelong Racecourse railway station Geelong Racecourse (also known as Breakwater) is a disused railway station on the Geelong-Warrnambool railway line, in the Geelong suburb of Breakwater, Victoria, Australia. The station was located on a loop siding off the main line and was o ...

was also provided at that time. The Geelong Racing Club, the Geelong Agricultural Society and the Hibernian Society together paid the Victorian Railways £1000 to have the station built. The course itself has seen a number of upgrades, the most recent being the provision of a third

and an upgrade of the track itself.

External links

Geelong Racing Club

References

*Peter Begg (1990). ''Geelong - The First 150 Years''. Globe Press. ISBN 0-9592863-5-7 {{coord, 38.1743, S, 144.3757, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Horse racing venues in Australia Buildings and structures in Geelong Sport in Geelong Tourist attractions in Geelong Sports venues in Victoria (Australia) 1908 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1908