Australian Horse Racing
There are two basic forms of horse racing in Australia: flat racing and races over jumps. The former is an oval shaped, flat course covered in turf whereas in the latter the horses jump fences (in steeplechases) or hurdles placed around the course. A race meeting can include both flat races or steeplechase and hurdle races. Entrance qualifications, race distances, and types of prize varies considerably between clubs.
Australian Horse Racing History.
First Horse Races In Australia
Although evidence points to horse racing at the Hawkesbury River during 1809, the first "record" of a horse race in Australia was a meeting held in Parramatta NSW on April 30th, 1810.
First Racing Organisation
The first Australian racing organis-ation was the Sydney Turf Club which was formed in 1825. The Australian Jockey Club was founded during April 1842 and held its first meeting at Homebush, NSW. It became the headquarters of Australian racing until 1859 when it was moved to its present location at Randwick NSW.
Australia's First Bookmaker
Up until June 1882, bookmakers would quietly book wagers to clients being careful not to mention the odds to the general public. The first bookmaker who actually "called the odds" was an English gambler named Robert Siever. He called himself "Bob Sutton" and operated at Morphetville in SA.
The Totalisator
The totalisator was officially first introduced in NSW during 1917 which has helped to bring about the nation's most popular spectator sport. In April 1980, Terry Page, the king of Sydney rings became the first bookmaker to reach a turnover of $1 million in one day. Melbourne is the world's only city to declare itself a public holiday each year for a horse race, the Melbourne Cup. Flemington racecourse in Victoria has staged the Melbourne Cup since 1860 and Australians throughout the nation stand still as ears and eyes are glued to radio and television screens. At Flemingtom racecourse on Melbourne Cup Day, anything goes and generally does, as the social set, the would-be social set and the trendies attempt to outdo & outrage one another.