Caulfield racecourse can be found in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs about 8 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre and is also referred to as "The Heath". Caulfield hosts the major Caulfield Cup carnival in October and can hold a crowd of 50,000+ people quite comfortably. It is home to the Melbourne Racing Club.
Melbourne Racing Club
Racing first began at Caulfield racecourse in 1876 and was administered by the Victoria Amateur Turf Club(VATC). The first meeting actually took place at Dowling Forest racecourse in Ballarat before Caulfield became the permanent home in Melbourne a short time later.
The Club started a five 5 year plan in 2001 to establish 20 feature race days at Caulfield, construct a second turf track at Sandown to be known as Hillside, and the existing track to be renamed Lakeside, and also a major upgrade of facilities and training tracks at Caulfield. As part of the plan the Club also changed from the VATC to become the Melbourne Racing Club.
The Melbourne Racing Club operates at both Caulfield and Sandown racecourses and holds 60 plus race meetings each year across the two locations, which accounts for almost half of all city racing in Melbourne.
Caulfield Racing Carnivals
Caulfield hosts two major carnivals in autumn and spring that provide some quality racing in Australia each year, including the Caulfield Cup and Futurity Stakes.
Autumn
Held in February each year the Blue Diamond Stakes for two-year-olds is the main draw card while the Futurity Stakes, C F Orr Stakes, and Oakleigh Plate provide a top support act.
Below are the main races of the autumn racing carnival.
Blue Diamond Stakes - Group 1 - 2yo set weights race over 1200 metres
CF Orr Stakes - Group 1 - Weight-for-age race over 1400m
Futurity Stakes - Group 1 - Weight-for-age race over 1400m
Oakleigh Plate - Group 1 - Open handicap race over 1100m
Spring
The main spring carnival is held in October with the three day Caulfield Cup Carnival, however the club hosts two Group 1 races in September with the Dubai Racing Club Cup and Underwood Stakes. The three day carnival hosts the Caulfield Guineas on the first Saturday, then the Thousand Guineas on the Wednesday, before the running of their major spring race the Caulfield Cup on the following Saturday.
Below are the major races of the spring carnival at Caulfield.
Underwood Stakes - Group 1 weight-for-age race over 1800m
Caulfield Guineas - Group 1 three-year-old set weights race over 1600m
Thousand Guineas - Group 1 three-year-old fillies set weights race over 1600m
Yalumba Stakes - Group 1 weight-for-age race over 2000m
Toorak Handicap - Group 1 open handicap over 1600m
Caulfield Cup - Group 1 open handicap race over 2400m
Caulfield Track Details
The track has a circumference of 2,080 metres with long sweeping turns and the back of the course has a slight rise towards the 1400m starting chute. The straight length is 367 metres and there are three starting chutes at the 1200m, 1400, and 2000m starts. Caulfield is a track suited to horses that can lead or race up on the pace.
Circumference: 2,080 metres
Straight: 367 metres
Direction: Anti-Clockwise
Caulfield Track Map
Caulfield Contact details
Melbourne Racing Club
PO Box 231
Caulfield East VIC 3145
Ph: 03 9257 7100
Fax: 03 9257 7101
Website: Melbourne Racing Club Website
How to get to Caulfield racecourse
Caulfield Racecourse can be located about 20 minutes south-east of Melbourne's city centre by following Dandenong Road from the city until you see the signs to the Caulfield racecourse turn-off.
Melbourne has three other city racing tracks which can be found below;
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