Darwin Races, Race Track & Betting Odds
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The Darwin Races
Since Darwin is the only tropical capital city in Australia, you can expect intense horse racing action at the Fannie Bay Racecourse in Darwin, Northern Territory. Horse racing in Darwin started in May 1955 when the Darwin Turf Club was formed. In October 20, 1956, the first Darwin Cup and five other races were held for a total prize pool of $470. The first Darwin Cup had a prize pool of $260.
The Darwin Cup would be the marquee race of the Darwin Race Club at the Fannie Bay Racecourse and race caller Jack Russell was able to witness the Darwin Cup of 1972 wherein Son of Cyrus raced to victory. In 1980, the Triple Crown was introduced in the Northern Territory and it increased the prize pools of the horse races.
The 1990 Darwin Cup is the first race in the state that has a prize pool of at least $100,000 and at present, this race is attended by about 15,000 enthusiasts and the race has been televised since 2003. Darwin Cup day is a public holiday in the Northern Territory to give racing enthusiasts a chance to catch the action. In 2011, the Darwin Cup will be held on the 1st of August.
Aside from the Darwin Cup Day, the carnival also features the Hot Darwin Guineas Day on the 7th of July, the Trans Territory Foods Chief Minister’s Cup on the 9th, the Bridge Toyota Ladies Day on the 13th, the Skycity NT Derby Day on the 16th, The SKY Racing Metric Mile Race Day on the 23rd, the Colemans Printing Cup Day on the 27th and the Darwin Airport Resort Palmerston Sprint on the 30th.
The Darwin Races, the home track of the Darwin Cup and of the Darwin Turf Club, is an oil mixed sand track which is located about ten minutes from the Darwin Airport and about seven minutes away from the central business district of Darwin. The race track has a circumference of 1780 metres and a home straight 340 metres. The Fannie Bay Racecourse has a width of 15 metres.
Fannie Bay only has one starting chute and it is for a 1300-metre race. Various racing starts are marked within the oval race track and it can cater to races with distances from 900 metres to 2000 metres. Among all race distances, the 1300-metre race has the longest straight run from its starting barriers at 560 metres while the 1800-metre race has the shortest with 90 metres.
You can enjoy more race day and non-racing benefits if you choose to be a member of the Darwin Turf Club. The full membership is worth $420 while the senior membership is worth $220. Single membership costs $295 while Social Membership is worth $140. Colts and fillies membership is worth $80 while corporate membership costs $545. Lifetime membership is worth $6,300. All membership options come with a $50 one-off nomination fee.
However, you can still enjoy the horse races at the Fannie Bay Racecourse in Darwin even if you are not a member of the Darwin Turf Club. For general race days, adults can come in for $7 while seniors must pay $5 to enter. Children below 18 years old have free entrance. On special race days, the entrance fee for adults is $10 while seniors must pay $5. Children under 18 can come in for free as well.
On Featured race days, the entrance fee for adults is $20 while seniors must pay $10. Children under 18 years of age can still come in for free and you can buy a Grandstand Access Pass for $25.
