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.
Castlemaine is a town in west central Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The population at the 2021 Census was 7,506. Castlemaine was named by the chief goldfield commissioner, Captain W. Wright, in honour of his Irish uncle, Viscount Castlemaine.
Rowville is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Rowville recorded a population of 33,571 at the 2021 census. Rowville is one of the largest suburbs south-east of Melbourne.
Kyneton is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. Kyneton is on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country.
St Arnaud is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, 244 kilometres north west of the capital Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area. At the 2021 census, St Arnaud had a population of 3,453.
Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a population of 3,170. Creswick was named after the Creswick family, the pioneer settlers of the region.
Woodend is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area and is bypassed to the east and north by the Calder Freeway (M79), located about halfway between Melbourne and Bendigo. At the 2021 census, Woodend had a population of 6,732 and is located on the Country of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Peoples who are traditional custodians of this area.
Trentham is a town in the Shire of Hepburn and Shire of Moorabool local government area of West Central Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Trentham had a population of 1,180, with a median age of 55 years. Located at an altitude of 700 metres (2,297 ft), the town is 87 kilometres (54 mi) north-west of Melbourne. The Trentham area is located on the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal people.
Dunolly is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Dunolly - Maryborough Road, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2016 census, Dunolly had a population of 893, down from 969 in 2006.
Peter Rowsthorn is an Australian businessman. He is the former chairman of Toll Holdings, Australia's largest transport company, having bought the company with Paul Little in 1986. He is now the owner of Wadham Park and Woodside, a horse training facility and a stud farm respectively.
Toolern Vale is a town on the north-western outskirts of Greater Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, 40 km (25 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melton and the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government areas. Toolern Vale recorded a population of 818 at the 2021 census.
Eden Park is a locality in Victoria, Australia, 36 km (22 mi) north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. Eden Park recorded a population of 1,194 at the 2021 census.
Malmsbury is a town in central Victoria, Australia on the Old Calder Highway (C794), 95 km north-west of the state capital, Melbourne and 11 km north-west of Kyneton. Situated close by the Coliban River, Malmsbury has a population of 1,101. Malmsbury is in the north western area of the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area.
Chewton is a town in central Victoria, Australia in the Shire of Mount Alexander local government area, 116 kilometres north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2016 census, Chewton had a population of 1313.
Campbells Creek is a town in Victoria, Australia.
Franklinford is a locality in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, located in the Shire of Hepburn.
Grey Swallow was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from July 2003 until October 2006 he competed in five countries and won six of his fifteen races. He was unbeaten in two races as a two-year-old including the Killavullan Stakes and won the Leopardstown 2,000 Guineas Trial Stakes on his first appearance of 2004. After being placed in both the 2000 Guineas and the Irish 2,000 Guineas he recorded his most important success when defeating The Derby winner North Light in the Irish Derby. As a four-year-old he defeated a strong field to win the Tattersalls Gold Cup, but did not win again in Europe. He was campaigned internationally in 2006, winning the Jim Murray Memorial Handicap in California. At the end of his racing career he was retired to become a breeding stallion in Australia.
Buckley is a rural locality in the Surf Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia. It was formerly known as Laketown. In the 2021 census, Buckley had a population of 227.
Bellarine is a rural locality in the City of Greater Geelong, Victoria, Australia. In the 2011 census, the population of Bellarine was too low to separately report; however in June 2014 the Victorian Electoral Commission recorded 134 enrolled voters in Bellarine, living in 81 properties.
Strangways is a locality split between the local government areas of Hepburn Shire and Mount Alexander Shire, in Central Victoria, Australia. It covers an area of 20.105 square kilometres between the townships of Guidford to the east, Newstead to the north-west and Clydesdale to the south.
