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Flemington
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Flemington History |
Flemington Racecourse is to be found
in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and is one of the foremost horse
racing venues in Australia, mainly recognized for hosting the
Melbourne Cup - Australia's most affluent horse race. Due to
its popularity, since the mid 1870's, the first Tuesday in November, was
declared a public holiday, known as Melbourne Cup Day, and is
commemorated as an extraordinary day throughout the country.
In March 1840 when the town of Melbourne was just five years old,
the inaugural race meet was held at the Melbourne Racecourse on the
jagged river flats alongside the Maribyrnong River. And races have been
held here annually ever since, making it the oldest ongoing urban
racecourse in Australia.
To access the Melbourne Racecourse from Melbourne, one would make
their way through the real estate called Flemington, owned by James
Watson. In 1848, he erected the Flemington Hotel, and a small community
flourished around it. Furthermore Watson's wife originated from a town
named Flemington in Scotland, and by the late 1850's, the racecourse was
commonly known as Flemington.
Victoria Turf Club initially contracted the course in 1848, until
its amalgamation with the Victoria Jockey Club in 1864. Together, they
became the Victoria Racing Club, or generally known as the VRC, hosting
the first Melbourne Cup in 1861. The VRC gained command of over
Flemington Racecourse in 1871 when the Victoria Racing Club Act was
conceded.
These days, several of Australia's crowned races - The Melbourne
Cup, VRC Derby, VRC Oaks, MacKinnon Stakes, Newmarket Handicap,
Australian Cup and Lightning Stakes, are held at Flemington Racecourse.
Not only is it a superb racecourse, but in 2006, it was
registered on the National Heritage List, and is the most imperative
racing heritage site in the nation. |
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Flemington Contact Info |
Phone +61 3 8378 0747
Website www.flemington.com.au
eMail customerservice@vrc.net.au
Physical Address Victoria Racing Club Limited
448 Epsom Road
Flemington VIC 3031
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