Oakbank Racecourse, also but less frequently known as the "Onkaparinga Racecourse", is home of the

Oakbank Racing Club Oakbank Racing Club, formerly the Onkaparinga Racing Club, is a thoroughbred horse racing organization in South Australia. It is responsible for the Oakbank Racecourse and running the events of the Easter Racing Carnival on that course, culminating ...

, a club which, until 2009, raced just twice annually,

Easter Saturday Easter Saturday, on the Christian calendar, is the Saturday following the festival of Easter, the Saturday of Easter or Bright Week. In the liturgy of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturd ...

and

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

at the

Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival The Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival is a horse-racing meeting held over two days by the Oakbank Racing Club at the Oakbank Racecourse located in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. The carnival is a mixture of flat and jumping races with between ...

, and has done continually since 1876, except during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when it was held at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

and

Morphettville Racecourse Morphettville Racecourse is the main horse racing Race track, course for the Australia, Australian state of South Australia, incorporating two separate tracks. It is situated in the Adelaide suburb of Morphettville, South Australia, Morphettvi ...

due to the army taking over the facility. Located in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

's Adelaide Hills, it is the home of steeplechasing and jumping in SA, which combines with flat racing over the festival, including the famous

Great Eastern Steeplechase The Great Eastern Steeplechase was an Australian Thoroughbred steeplechase horse race held annually at Oakbank, South Australia on Easter Saturday and Monday at the Oakbank Racecourse as part of the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival. The first fixture ...

and classic Harry D. Young Hurdle. Brooklyn Park Jockey Jack McGowan was a regular and prominent identity in the late 1800s and early 1900s on horses such as Strike and All Fours. Jack won the Harry D Young Hurdle on Jack Spratt and also run close seconds in the Great Eastern Steeplechase and Oakbank Hurdle on Edirol and Culleraine. In 2019 Oakbank Easter Saturday was still South Australia's most attended race day in the SA racing calendar hosted by Oakbank racing club. Oakbank Week is held each year on the Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday prior to Easter Sunday, except in 2020 when it was cancelled due to COVID-19. Easter Saturday at Oakbank now attracts crowds of over 20,000, when the feature Great Eastern Steeplechase is run. The racing carnival used to attract massive crowds, with about 40,000 attending the Saturday meeting and up around 70,000 attending on Easter Monday. From 2009 the inaugural Oakbank Prelude Raceday has taken place two weeks before Easter, marking the first time that a separate meeting to the Easter Carnival has taken place at Oakbank. The famous Von Doussa Steeplechase is run on this program. More information is available at www.oakbankracingclub.com.au

Jumps-racing controversy

The Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival has received backlash from the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...

Australia,

Animals Australia Animals Australia is an Australian animal protection organisation. Its aim is to investigate and expose animal cruelty, inspire kindness to animals through public awareness campaigns—particularly focused on farmed animals—and provide funding a ...

, and The Humane Society International Australia for the number of deaths associated with jumps-racing. There have been 7 reported horse deaths during jumps-races at Oakbank since 2010, including 2 in 2010, 1 in 2011, 2 in 2012, 1 in 2014 and 1 in 2017. In Australia in 2021, Victoria and South Australia are the only states where jumps-racing is conducted. On October 1st 2021 it was announced that jumps racing will no longer be conducted in

mainly due to the small number of South Australian jumps horses. There were plans to run the Great Eastern and Von Doussa Steeplechase as a flat race. However on 3rd March 2022 it was announced that would not happen. However, many jumps racing supporters attempted to keep jumps racing at Oakbank and that fight went into the South Australian Court System. That would result in an election occurring which the anti-jumps faction won but debate surrounding that vote spilled into more legal action. But not long after the South Australian Government stepped in and outlawed jumps racing in the state.

References

External links

Oakbank Racing Club
Horse racing venues in Australia Sports venues completed in 1876 1876 establishments in Australia {{horseracing-venue-stub