Thoroughbred horse racing is a 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 Thoroughbred horseracing in Australia are flat racing, and races over fences or hurdles in Victoria and South Australia. Thoroughbred racing is the third most attended spectator sport in Australia, behind Australian rules football and rugby league, with almost two million admissions to 360 registered racecourses throughout Australia in 2009/10. Horseracing commenced soon after European settlement, and is now well-appointed with automatic totalizators, starting gates and photo finish cameras on nearly all Australian racecourses.
Octagonal was a champion New Zealand-bred, Australian raced Thoroughbred racehorse, also known as 'The Big O' or 'Occy'. He was by the champion sire Zabeel, out of the champion broodmare Eight Carat, who also produced Group One winners Mouawad, Kaapstad, Diamond Lover and (Our) Marquise.
Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarters. The racecourse is located about six kilometres south-east from the Sydney Central Business District in the suburb of Randwick. The course proper has a circumference of 2224m with a home straight of 410m.
The Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is located in the Western Sydney suburb of Rosehill, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by the Australian Turf Club. Rosehill holds horse races for thoroughbred gallopers on a grass surface. It is one of the two premier racecourses in Sydney, the other one being Randwick Racecourse. One of the main events held at Rosehill is the Golden Slipper race for two-year-olds. The track has a circumference of 2,048 metres (6,719 ft) with a home straight of 408 metres (1,339 ft).
Vain was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse that dominated Australian sprint racing in the period 1968–70, when he won 12 of the 14 races he contested and ran second in the other two. He went on to become a leading sire in Australia.
Gabriel Marie "Gai" Waterhouse is an Australian horse trainer and businesswoman. The daughter of Tommy J. Smith, a leading trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, Waterhouse was born and raised in Sydney. After graduating from the University of New South Wales, she worked as an actor for a time, appearing in both Australian and English television series. Having worked under her father for a period of 15 years, Waterhouse was granted an Australian Jockey Club (AJC) licence in 1992, and trained her first Group One (G1) winner later that year.
The Randwick Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March as a part of the Sydney Autumn Carnival. Total prize money for the race is A$1 million.
Flight (1940–1953) was an Australian Thoroughbred racemare that was the highest stakes winning mare in Australasia. Her courageous efforts made her a crowd favourite during the post World War II era and she had victories over some of the great horses of the time including Shannon, Bernborough, Royal Gem and Russia.
Sky High was an outstanding Australian Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Some of his major race victories include the 1960 STC Golden Slipper Stakes, 1960 VRC Derby, 1961 and 1962 VRC Lightning Stakes and the 1961 AJC Epsom Handicap.
Baguette was an Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse that was undefeated as a two-year-old and became the first winner of the Two Year Old Triple Crown. His wins included 14 Principal Races and he retired to become a good sire.
The Skyline Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for colts and geldings aged two years old, at set weights, over a distance of 1,200 metres. It is held annually at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in late February or early March.
The Canterbury Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and upwards at weight for age, over a distance of 1300 metres, held annually at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March.
The Todman Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race, for two-year-old colts and geldings, at set weights, over a distance of 1200 metres held at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March. Total prize money for the race is A$300,000.
The Sydney Carnival, a.k.a. Sydney Autumn Carnival, is a major Australian Thoroughbred racing series held in Sydney in March and April each year. It consists of six weeks of racing conducted by Australian Turf Club across the city's two primary racecourses: Royal Randwick and Rosehill Gardens. The most important races include the AAMI Golden Slipper Stakes, the world's richest race for two-year-old horses, the BMW Stakes, the Rosehill Guineas, the Australian Derby, the Doncaster Handicap and the Sydney Cup. The 2015 Sydney Autumn Carnival consists of 20 Group 1 races, and offers $26.5 million in prize money.
The Breeders Classic, raced as the Hot Danish Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race, for mares three-years old and upwards, at set weights with penalties, over a distance of 1400 metres run at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney, Australia every November. Total prize money for the race is A$500,000.
Wenona Girl was a leading Australian Thoroughbred horse racemare that had 27 wins over distances ranging from 4½ furlongs to 1½ miles. She won 22 principal races, 15 of which were later designated group one (G1) races. Wenona Girl's principal wins included the VRC Sires Produce Stakes, AJC Sires Produce Stakes, George Adams Handicap, One Thousand Guineas, VATC Futurity Stakes, AJC George Main Stakes, AJC All Aged Stakes, AJC Adrian Knox Oaks Stakes, Rawson Stakes and Rosehill Guineas, all of which were later classified as G1 races. At the time of her retirement she was the highest stakes winning mare to have raced in Australia. At stud she was a good broodmare. Wenona Girl was later inducted into Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
Darren Beadman is an Australian champion jockey. In 2007 at age 41 he was the youngest jockey ever to be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, being the first to do so while still active in the industry.
The Doncaster Prelude, registered as Royal Parma Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 3 Thoroughbred quality handicap horse race, for horses aged three years old and older, over a distance of 1500 metres, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney. Total prize money for the race is A$160,000.
The Eskimo Prince Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race, for three-year-olds, with set weights with penalties conditions, over a distance of 1200 metres at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in February. Total prize money for the race is A$160,000.
The AJC St Leger is an historical Australian Turf Club Thoroughbred horse race run over 2,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia run under set weights with penalties for stayers three - years and older.
