Flemington Racecourse Guide

Flemington Racecourse is arguably Australia’s most famous racing facility. Over 100 years of top thoroughbred racing, combined with excellent management by the Victoria Racing Club has seen this venue emerge as one of the premier international racing destinations.

Flemington Racecourse Layout

Unlike the smaller tracks in Europe, Flemington Racecourse has been able to make good use of the vast expanses of land available in Australia to construct a truly massive racing facility. At present Flemington Racecourse comprises a 1.5 mile pear-shaped flat racing track in the midst of 320 acres of land.

The shape of the Flemington Racecourse flat racing course requires horses to negotiate a fast, tight, turn on the way to the finishing post. Flemington Racecourse also boasts one of the longest straights in international thoroughbred racing, with a straight course just under three quarters of a mile long.

The draw can have a significant impact on a horse’s prospects in races at Flemington Racecourse. Horses drawn on the inside appear to have a significant advantage on the left-handed course, and particularly in the shorter races an outside draw can be damaging to a horse’s prospects.

Flemington Racecourse is also known to offer a very variable turf depending on climatic conditions. During dry spells the turf can be exceptionally hard, whilst wet spells see the turf take on instant heaviness. This means paying attention to weather patterns prior to races plays an important role in Melbourne Cup betting.

Alongside the flat racing course, Flemington Racecourse features a diamond shaped steeplechase course that covers a distance of almost three miles. The massive size of the course has translated into considerable grandstand development, and Flemington Racecourse can now house approximately 122,000 spectators on race days.

Flemington Racecourse Races

Today Flemington Racecourse hosts more Group 1 races than any other racecourse in Australia and is the host of one of racing’s most famous race collections, the Spring Racing Carnival. Amongst the jewels in the Flemington Racecourse Crown are fourteen Group 1 races that attract international attention and contestants, as well as an additional 8 Group 2 races.

Over the past several years the Victoria Derby has outstripped the Melbourne Cup in terms of attendances, and an attendance record of over 129,000 was set in 2006 for Derby Day. The massive influx of spectators on race days has seen the Melbourne city council provide Flemington Racecourse with a dedicated railway station.