Randwick Racecourse

Randwick Racecourse

Randwick Racecourse from above
Location	Eastern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales
Coordinates	33°54′39″S 151°13′49″E
Date opened	1833
Official website

Randwick Racecourse on Derby Day 2007

Randwick Racecourse on Randwick Plate Day 1920

Members stand and enclosure in 1952.

Randwick Racecourse in 1863

The racecourse tramway exit bridge in 1952.

Former 1920 racecourse tram station and southern exit at Ascot Street.

Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horseracing in the Eastern Suburbs in Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is operated by the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarters. The racecourse is located approximately six kilometres from the Sydney Central Business District in the suburb of Randwick.

Races

The following is a list of Group races which are contested at Randwick Racecourse.

Grp	Race Name	Age	Sex	Weight	Distance	Date
1	Australian Derby	3YO	Open	sw	2400	April
1	AJC Oaks	3YO	Fillies	sw	2400	April
1	AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	2000	April
1	AJC Sires Produce Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1400	April
1	All Aged Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1400	April
1	Champagne Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1600	April
1	Doncaster Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1600	April
1	Epsom Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1600	October
1	Flight Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw	1600	October
1	George Main Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1600	September
1	Queen Of The Turf Stakes	3YO+	F&M	qlty	1600	April
1	Randwick Guineas	3YO	Open	sw	1600	March
1	Spring Champion Stakes	3YO	Open	sw	2000	October
1	Sydney Cup	Open	Open	hcp	3200	April
1	T J Smith Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1200	April
1	The Galaxy	Open	Open	hcp	1100	March
1	AJC Metropolitan Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	2400	October
2	AJC Chairmans Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	2600	April
2	Breeders' Classic	4YO+	Mares	sw+p	1200	February
2	Chelmsford Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1600	September
2	Emancipation Stakes	3YO+	F&M	sw+p	1600	April
2	Furious Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw	1400	September
2	Light Fingers Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw+p	1100	February
2	Roman Consul Stakes	3YO	Open	sw	1200	September
2	Royal Sovereign Stakes	3YO	C&G	sw+p	1200	February
2	Sapphire Stakes	Open	F&M	sw+p	1200	April
2	Stan Fox Stakes	3YO	Open	sw	1400	September
2	Villiers Stakes	Open	Open	hcp	1600	December
3	Adrian Knox Stakes	3YO	Fillies	qlty	2000	April
3	Bill Ritchie Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1400	September
3	Colin Stephen Quality Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	2400	September
3	Craven Plate	Open	Open	wfa	2000	October
3	Frank Packer Plate	3YO	Open	sw	2000	April
3	Southern Cross Stakes	Open	Open	hcp	1200	February
3	Kindergarten Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1100	March
3	Randwick Plate	Open	Open	hcp	2000	March
3	San Domenico Stakes	3YO	Open	sw	1000	August
3	Skyline Stakes	2YO	C&G	sw	1200	March
3	South Pacific Classic	3YO	Open	sw	1400	April
3	Summer Cup	Open	Open	hcp	2400	December
3	Sweet Embrace Stakes	2YO	Fillies	sw	1200	March
3	The Shorts	Open	Open	hcp	1100	October
3	Tramway Quality Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1400	September

Venue

The Final Mass for World Youth Day 2008 was held at Randwick Racecourse (dubbed Southern Cross Precinct specifically for the event) and was attended by 350,000 people.

Besides horseracing, Randwick Racecourse has been used as a venue for many other events including concerts and religious masses.

In 1970, Pope Paul VI celebrated mass at Randwick as part of his pastoral visit to Australia. The Racecourse was also the site of a mass held by Pope John Paul II in 1995 for the Beatification ceremony of Australia's first potential saint Mary MacKillop. It was also the site of the vigil and final mass of World Youth Day 2008 in July 2008. Racing was stopped for several weeks, due to the alterations needed to hold over 400,000 people. This move had been opposed by the Randwick Trainers Association, which holds lease interests over some areas intended to be used for the event. The dispute was resolved, by the federal government and the state government jointly pledging $40 million as reimbursement to the racing industry. The famous racecourse has also appeared in several films, including Mission: Impossible II.

Randwick Racecourse is also used as an exam venue by the University of New South Wales.

In addition, the annual Future Music Festival is held at the racecourse.

See also

• List of Australian organisations with royal patronage

• 
  Royal Randwick, Grandstand at left
• 
  The Tea House
• 
  Tea House and Rose Garden
• 
  Skyline and Tea House viewed from Grandstand

References

• Randwick Racecourse, Australian Town and Country Journal, (Saturday, 25 September 1886), p.661; Australian Town and Country Journal, (Saturday, 25 September 1886), p.654.

External links

• Australian Turf Club