General Information
Australian horse racing takes place daily with meetings conducted daily by Metropolitan, Provincial and Country Race Clubs.
Saturday is considered the main day for racing in Australia with meetings held in each State every weekend. Each state also run Midweek racing which generally sees multiple Metropolitan, Provinical or Country meetings on any given day.
Racing Carnivals are run in each state of Australia throughout the year, with the biggest being the Melbourne spring racing carnival, with the ultimate race being the Melbourne Cup but also includes major races such as The Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, VRC Derby & VRC Oaks while New South Wales hosts the Sydney autumn racing carnival where the highlight is the Golden Slipper for two-year-olds.
The major racing States of Australia and relevant carnivals are outlined below:
- Melbourne spring racing carnival
- Melbourne autumn racing carnival
- Sydney spring racing carnival
- Sydney autumn racing carnival
- Brisbane winter carnival
- Adelaide autumn carnival
- Perth summer carnival
Australian Group Races are the highest class of thoroughbred race in Australia.
Group races are divided into 4 categories;
Group 1 – at least $250,000 prizemoney – 60+ races per season
Group 2 – at least $125,000 prizemoney – 80+ races per season
Group 3 – at least $75,000 prizemoney – 110+ races per season
Listed – at least $50,000 prizemoney – 280+ races per season
