| ASHBURTON RACECOURSE | ||
| Located in the Canterbury region on South Island in the city of Ashburton is Ashburton racecourse. The Ashburton Racing Club was formed on 2nd September 1878 after interested members turned up to a Public meeting. By 1899 the Club had joined with the Tinwald Racing Club (see Tinwald Domain) to turn themsleves into Ashburton County Racing Club. | ||
| Records show that the first meeting took place at the
racecourse on the 13th and 14th September 1878 with 5 races per day. The feature race was
the Ashburton Cup which, in those early days, was worth 70 sovereigns.
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| In 1928 a new public and members stand was
built, but this was gutted by fire in 1943 when racing had ceased due to the War efforts.
In 1978 a new grandstand was built, and a further one opened in 1991. The principal race is the Listed 3 year old Ray Coupland Stakes contested each September over 1400 metres. |
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| It also hosts the Ashburton Trust Handicap Cup over 1200
metres. Currently the Club holds 4 meetings annually with Tony Cook as the President. I am grateful to Fiona Tonks for providing the information shown here. |
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| If you have badges, racecards, pictures of the racecourse or further details about the course, including your memories, then email johnslusar@fsmail.net | ||