The Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) is one of three metropolitan horse racing clubs in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
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. It began life as the Victoria Amateur Turf Club, in 1875 with Mr. E.C. Moore as the club's first Secretary. The Dowling Forest Racecourse in
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...
was the location for the first VATC race meeting on Friday, 24 March 1876.
Within six months the VATC were granted use of Crown land at Caulfield as a permanent home in Melbourne.
History and race meetings
In 1879, the club staged the first running of the
Caulfield Cup
The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...
, and two years later, introduced the
Caulfield Guineas
The Caulfield Guineas is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held over 1600 metres (1 mile) at set weights for three-year-old horses at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Total prize money is A$3 million.
The race ...
and the
Toorak Handicap
The Toorak Handicap is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run as an open handicap race, over a distance of 1,600 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Currently, the prizemoney is A$1,000,000.
History
The ...
. In addition the Caulfield Cup was switched to the spring racing season and became the lead up race to the
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...
. The
Futurity Stakes was added to the racing calendar in 1898. The Club suffered the loss of the Members' Stand in 1922 when it was destroyed by fire, and five years later the Guineas Stand was also burnt down.
The military occupied
Caulfield Racecourse
Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is located nine kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, on the boundary of Caulfield and Caulfield East in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs. The Reserve was set aside for three purposes, racing, recreation and a publi ...
in 1940 for a period of four years when it became a depot and barracks for army recruits during the
Second World War
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 ...
. The then Vice-President of the United States,
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
attended the Caulfield Cup meeting in 1953.
In 1963 the Melbourne Racing Club, which had been created from an amalgamation of the Williamstown Racing Club and the Victorian Racing and Trotting Association, was incorporated into the VATC. Following the merger, the newest of Melbourne's race tracks,
Sandown Racecourse
Sandown Racecourse (also known as Ladbrokes Park due to naming rights) is a Thoroughbred horse racing race track administered by the Melbourne Racing Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is situated 25 kilometres south-east of the Melbourn ...
, was opened on 19 June 1965 in front of a crowd of over 52,000.
The first
Blue Diamond Stakes
The Blue Diamond Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds, at set weights, run over 1200 metres at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event is Victoria's richest two-year-old race ...
, a race for 2-year-olds, was run at Caulfield in 1971 and won by Tolerance.
The glass-fronted Rupert Clarke Grandstand, which replaced the main Caulfield grandstand of the 1920s, was opened in 1992.
With the increase in the number of visiting international horses to the
Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival The Spring Racing Carnival is the name of an Australian Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually in Melbourne during October and November.
The Carnival and its status in the wider community
Although racing in Australia is held every day excep ...
a permanent
Quarantine
A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
Centre was established by the VATC at Sandown Racecourse in 1997.
In 2001 the Club commenced a five-year, $20 million, strategic plan which included the establishment of 20 feature race days at Caulfield; construction of a second turf track at Sandown to be known as Hillside, with the existing circuit being renamed Lakeside; a major upgrade of facilities and training tracks at Caulfield; and the change of club name from Victoria Amateur Turf Club to Melbourne Racing Club.
Jumps racing is conducted at the Sandown track during the winter months, the blue ribbon events being the Australian Steeple and the Australian Hurdle.
See also
*
Thoroughbred racing in Australia
Thoroughbred horse racing is an important spectator sport in Australia, and gambling on horse races is a very popular pastime with A$14.3 billion wagered in 2009/10 with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). The two forms of Thoroughb ...
*
Moonee Valley Racing Club
The Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) was founded by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox), in 1883 is located at The Valley Racecourse on McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds (a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). It is one of three racing clubs in the Melb ...
*
Victoria Racing Club
The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup, ...
References
External links
Melbourne Racing Club
{{Authority control
Horse racing organisations in Australia
Sporting clubs in Melbourne
1875 establishments in Australia
Sports clubs established in 1875
Horse racing in Melbourne