History of Flemington - Australia's most historic racecourse

Flemington is the best-known racecourse in Australia. It is the oldest continuing metropolitan racecourse – there have been races here every year since 1840. It is the most significant racing heritage site in the country and in 2006 it was placed on the National Heritage List. The first race meeting held here was on the rough river flats beside the Maribyrnong River in March 1840 when Melbourne as a town was barely five years old. This was two years after Melbourne's first race meeting, near present-day Spencer Street railway station (March 1838). Flemington has also been a great centre for horse training. Many of Australia's most famous trainers have maintained stables at or near the course.

Following the 2006 Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Course Proper was ripped up to be fully replaced for the first time in the course's history. Racing was suspended at Flemington until September 2007.

the victoria racing club

The Victoria Racing Club (VRC)(1864) evolved from two earlier rival clubs, the Victoria Turf Club (1852) and Victoria Jockey Club (1857), who disbanded to create the new club. They had previously run their own separate race meetings at the racecourse. Before the Victoria Turf Club began, self-appointed committees of interested horse owners had organised the annual races. From 1864 until the end of 2001 the VRC acted as the principal authority responsible for the conduct of racing in Victoria. It now participates in Racing Victoria Ltd which fulfils that role.

In August 2006, the VRC was incorporated to become Victoria Racing Club Limited.

the origins of the melbourne cup and the spring racing carnival

The first Melbourne races were run annually in the autumn. In 1854 the Victoria Turf Club (VTC) decided to run a spring meeting as well, when the countryside was at its best and the weather the most dramatic. It was the VTC which thought up the idea of a Melbourne Cup, a handicap race over two miles with a rich prize. This was first run in November 1861 and attracted top inter-colonial horses - including the winner, Archer, from New South Wales. For full history on the Melbourne Cup race, please refer to About The Melbourne Cup.

The newly-formed Victoria Racing Club (VRC) took over the race in time for its fourth running, in 1864, and has run it at Flemington every spring without fail since that time, as its feature race for the year.

how flemington racecourse began

When Flemington (originally called Melbourne Racecourse) was first used as a racecourse (March 1840) it was regarded by the government as Crown Land and was not privately owned.

In 1848, the Governor of New South Wales was still in charge of the Port Phillip District which became the separate colony of Victoria in 1851. He formally ordered that a site of 352 acres be considered to be a public racecourse, and he appointed six men as trustees of the racecourse area. In 1871 the government passed a Victoria Racing Club Act which made the club the trustees of the racecourse.

the naming of flemington

Flemington was first known as the Melbourne Racecourse. The original approach road from Melbourne crossed Moonee Ponds Creek at Mt Alexander Road and passed through the property called Flemington owned since 1840 by James Watson. He built his Flemington Hotel there in 1848 and a small township grew up around it. He also married in 1840 and his wife Elizabeth came from a place named Flemington in Morayshire, Scotland. It was not, as was long thought, named after early settler Robert Fleming, whose home was in Brunswick. The name Flemington for the racecourse was commonly use by the late 1850s.

the flemington tradition

Flemington became a marvel under the early administration of the VRC. First secretary Robert C. Bagot and his successor Henry Byron Moore improved all facets of the racecourse – for horses, trainers and the public – to make Flemington a premier sporting and recreation centre.

Melbourne's great wealth and growth from the gold rush era of the 1850s to the land boom of the 1880s made the city the most dynamic in Australia. The Melbourne Cup rode to fame as a social and fashion event as well as the national sporting highlight of the year.

Flemington was attracting crowds estimated at 100,000 for Cup Day in its first few decades. The Cup was always the most popular race of the year until a new trend emerged in 2001. In that year, both the Derby Day and Oaks Day attendances outstripped Cup Day as the popularity of Melbourne Cup Carnival exploded. When Makybe Diva won the first of her three Cups in 2003, the official attendance was a record 122,736 but that figure has since been surpassed by the Derby Day crowd of 129,089 in 2006. In 2007, the VRC introduced a new ticketing strategy which would cap attendance figures at 120,000 to avoid overcrowding.

Melbourne Cup Day as the first Tuesday in November has been a public holiday for the city since the mid 1870s. It is celebrated as a special day around the country.

The VRC has constantly improved standards of comfort and accommodation at Flemington, with $26.2 million spent on improvements in the years 2000-2004, in addition to the $45 million grandstand completed in 2000.

historical features of flemington

Phar Lap Statue

Phar Lap, foaled in New Zealand in 1926, became the most famous racehorse in Australia with thirty-seven wins in his career including the 1930 Melbourne Cup. He was a true celebrity in the early years of the great depression, and was adored by the public, but his career ended in drama and tragedy. In 1931 he was sent by ship to America to compete in one of the world's richest races at Agua Caliente, in northern Mexico. He won the race easily, but sixteen days later he was dead after an apparent colic attack. Since veterinary and other opinions were not conclusive, the real cause of his death remains a mystery. His stuffed hide remains one of the most popular exhibits at the Melbourne Museum.

In 1988 the VRC commissioned a bronze statue of Phar Lap from renowned sculptor Peter Corlett. This was part of the club's offering to the people of Melbourne for the celebration of Australia's bicentenary. Corlett's heroic Phar Lap is ten per cent larger than life size, and stands at the main pedestrian entrance way to the course enclosure near the Birdcage.

Birdcage

The picturesque area where the horses are stabled while awaiting their races is 'The Birdcage', a borrowing from the saddling paddock at historic Newmarket racecourse in England. The origin of the name is disputed. Some say it was a place where elegant lady racegoers were on display as much as the horses. In 2007, the VRC replaced the ageing birdcage area with a state-of-the-art complex to house 125 horses. A 180 metre tunnel was constructed from the parade ring to the mounting yard to provide safe access for horses and to avoid prevent overcrowding during busy periods such as the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Clerks of the Course

It is a local tradition that the horses ridden by the clerks of the course are grey, but this is not essential. Most of the horses are former racehorses. Amongst the best known has been Subzero, 1992 Melbourne Cup winner, who began his career as a clerk of the course horse in 1994. The clerks themselves, along with the starter, judge and stewards, are traditional officials at horse racing, and have long worn the traditional hunting 'pink' jacket to make them easily visible. Their job is to maintain order amongst the runners before and after the race and to respond to any emergencies. Clerks have to be cool, daring and accomplished riders.

Carbine

Carbine was not only Phar Lap's great-great-grandfather but shares with him the honour of being considered the greatest horse in Australian racing history. He was foaled in New Zealand but most of his racing career was in Australia. He carried a record 10 stone 5 pounds (65.5 kg) to win the 1890 Melbourne Cup in a huge field of thirty-nine runners. He became a very important stallion and late in his career was exported to England, where he sired winners of the English Derby and other great races. In 1990 the VRC arranged for the preservation of the wooden stalls where Carbine used to be housed when stabled at Flemington.

Members' Grandstand

With its art-moderne styling and elegant lines, the "old" Members' Grandstand has been part of the Flemington scene since the racecourse layout was radically altered in 1924. Building, rebuilding and modernisation of stands and facilities have been a feature of the racecourse since its inception, but the Members' Grandstand retains some of the elegant feeling of racing at Flemington in the years between the wars.

Mounting Yard

As part of the changed layout in the 1920s, the mounting yard was moved to the front of the Members' Grandstand. In the 1990s it was enlarged to almost double the size. The horses arrive here with their strappers from the walking areas in the birdcage, saddled and ready for their jockeys and the race. Only officials, trainers, jockeys and owners associated with the horses in the race are permitted in the mounting yard.

Committee Room

As has been the case since its formation in 1864, the VRC is managed by a committee elected by club Members. The positions are unpaid, and all committee Members work in the interests of racing. The committee rooms at Flemington have traditionally been the place where chairman and committee Members can offer hospitality to distinguished guests and Members of the club. The rooms traditionally house many of the treasures and artefacts belonging to the VRC. Here the famous large and detailed paintings by artist Carl Kahler depict Flemington at the spring carnival of 1887. Individual portraits in these paintings are readily identifiable. It is said that Kahler sent subjects an account for their inclusion. If they did not pay he would replace them!

Hill Stand

The high point or hill at Flemington has always been a natural vantage point, but not all of this land was originally part of the racecourse. The VRC bought land to extend the area in the nineteenth century, and basic public grandstands, shelters and facilities occupied the site. In 1977 the VRC constructed on the hill its largest grandstand to that time, at a cost of $8.5 million. It was a four-tiered stand. Opposite the winning post, it is for many racegoers, the best place to watch the races. The stand is open to the public and has all facilities including bookmakers, tote, restaurants and bars.

Murals

Installed on the sloping interior walls of the Hill Stand, the magnificent seven panels tracing the History of Racing constitute a rare work of art. The well-known Australian artist Harold Freedman and his studio assistants depicted dozens of landscapes, scenes and portraits of horses and racing personalities in extraordinary detail. These represent the history of racing internationally as well as in all states of Australia, with an emphasis on Flemington and the Melbourne Cup. The work was commissioned to mark the Australian bicentenary, and was completed after several years at the end of 1988. The original research and the resulting pictures were used as the basis of the book series The History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing by author and historian Andrew Lemon.

For further details on The History of Australian Thoroughbred Racing including the history of Flemington please go to www.historyofracing.com.au

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