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.
Sunline was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning race mare of her time. She won 32 of her 48 races with earnings of NZ$14,200,000. She was named the New Zealand Horse of the Year four times and Australian Horse of the Year three times. She has won the most Group races in modern times with 27, and she previously held the New Zealand record of 13 Group One wins until Melody Belle surpassed her in 2021.
Zabeel was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who predominantly raced in Australia. He was retired to stud and became a champion sire. He is a bay son of Sir Tristram from the Nureyev mare Lady Giselle. During his racing career, he won seven races, including the Moonee Valley Stakes in 1989 and the Australian Guineas, the Alister Clark Stakes, and the Craiglee Stakes in 1990.
Eight Carat (GB) (1975–2000) was a British-bred Thoroughbred broodmare. in Australasia. She produced five individual Group One winners, including Octagonal, Mouawad, Kaapstad, Diamond Lover and (Our) Marquise who had 28 stakes wins between them.
Rubiton was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the mid-1980s.
Efficient is a grey Thoroughbred racehorse gelding, bred in New Zealand, who won the 2007 Melbourne Cup and the 2006 Victoria Derby, both times ridden by Michael Rodd.
Seachange is a top New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse. She won a record seven Group I races in New Zealand. Her regular rider in New Zealand was Gavin McKeon.
Volksraad was a British-bred thoroughbred horse who when standing at stud in New Zealand was a champion sire. He dominated the New Zealand sires lists, with six consecutive titles from 2001 to 2007.
Trelawney Stud is New Zealand’s oldest commercial Thoroughbred horse stud farm. It was established in 1930 by Seton Otway near Cambridge, New Zealand.
Shocking is an Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse, trained by Mark Kavanagh, who won the 149th Melbourne Cup on 3 November 2009 by three-quarters of a length.
Ocean Park is a New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse. His biggest win came on 27 October 2012 in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley racecourse.
Sir Patrick Hogan was a New Zealand breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses, based in Cambridge. He was closely associated with the champion sires Sir Tristram and Zabeel.
Ultra Thoroughbred Racing Pty Ltd are breeders of thoroughbred racehorses based in Melbourne, Australia. The company is owned by Sean Buckley, with land holdings in Victoria and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. The business has racing interests primarily in Australia and New Zealand.
Pierro is a retired Australian racehorse who is now standing at stud. A bay horse, he stands at 16.1hh. He was from the fifth crop of the champion racehorse and stallion Lonhro out of the dam Miss Rite Note (IRE)(by Daylami). Pierro had a short racing career, racing in just two seasons and retiring to stud as a three-year-old. He ran in a total of 14 races, with 11 wins and 3 placings, including 5 Group 1 wins. His distances ranged from 1200m to 2040m. He was bred at Musk Creek Farm and sold for $230,000 in the Magic Millions sale. He was an unbeaten Triple Crown winner at 2 years, and a dual Group 1 winner at 3 years, earning him the title of both the highest rated Australian juvenile since 1977, and the highest rated 3yo sprinter in the world in 2013. He is now retired to stud at Coolmore, in Jerrys Plains of NSW, where he was purchased for $40 million. This has proved to be a very worthwhile investment for Coolmore thus far, as has had an illustrious career as a stallion to date, including four Group 1 winning progeny. He has had progeny sell for up to $1.1 million, highlighting the promising nature of his progeny for the years to come. His stud fee of $88,000 reflects his high quality characteristics on sale to any buyer who has a worthwhile mare and can afford the fee.
All Too Hard is a four time Group 1 winning Australian thoroughbred racehorse. He is also a successful breeding stallion having sired numerous stakes winners.
O'Reilly was a New Zealand bred and trained thoroughbred racehorse who won two Group 1 races.
Graeme Arthur Rogerson is a New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He is notable for having trained more race-day winners than any other trainer in New Zealand and for having won many Group One races in New Zealand and Australia.
Proisir is an Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won at Group 3 level at age 3 and has gone on to forge a successful career as a stud stallion in New Zealand.
Kawi is a retired New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse that won seven races at Group 1 level.
