Ascot Racecourse was a former racecourse in the southern

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

suburb of

Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

, close to the Mascot Aerodrome. It was named after Royal Ascot Racecourse in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The site is now part of Sydney Airport. It operated from 1904 to 1941, and was one of four racecourses in Sydney where unregistered proprietary horse racing took place. Large crowds were transported to and from the racecourse by a dedicated tramline from Botany Road.Timmony, P
Handling Heavy Traffic on Special Occasions
6 February 1934, from ''Action For Public Transport''. The first aeroplane flight over Sydney was made from Ascot Racecourse on 5 May 1911, by J.J. Hammond in his Boxkite plane.Sydney Airport Environment 2006-2010
The racecourse closed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when it was used as a

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

and did not reopen after the war. It was demolished as part of expansion works for Sydney Airport. The only surviving physical evidence of the racecourse are fifteen fig trees which formerly lined the racecourse entrance. These trees are located near the airport's long-term carpark, and are the subject of heritage preservation.

References

Sports venues in Sydney Former buildings and structures in Sydney 1904 establishments in Australia 1941 disestablishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1904 {{horseracing-venue-stub

See also

References