The New South Wales town of Brewarrina lies on the bank of the Barwon River some 60 miles east of Bourke and almost 490 miles from the state capital Sydney. The earliest settlers in the town were the Lawson brothers who developed two land holdings in the Bre area called Walcha and Moona. Today the town has a population in excess of 1,600 inhabitants and has its own racecourse where races are administered by the Brewarrina Jockey Club. The principal race, the Brewarrina Cup over 1200 metres, is usually held on the last Saturday in May, but occasionally has been run in April or November. However, the town has a proud racing history dating back to the mid-19th century. Meetings were scheduled to take place on 6th and 7th September 1864 and on 3rd and 4th January 1866 when the card included the Brewarrina Sweepstake (£20 added) over 2 ½ miles, the Publicans’ Purse (£25) over 1 ½ miles and the Ladies’ Purse (£20) over a mile. There is no evidence these races actually took place because no results were widely published. Similarly a meeting was scheduled for Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd May 1867, but it was postponed. However, a meeting did take place on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th December 1868 with principal race results shown below.

Thursday 3rd December 1868
Brewarrina Publican’s £20 Purse over 2 miles
1. Hard Times owned by Mr H Colless and ridden by Davis
2. Warwick owned by Mr H Drugget and ridden by Drugget
3. Snowdrop owned by Mr H Drugget
Friday 4th December 1868
Brewarrina Town Plate £30 over 2 miles
1. Warwick owned by Mr H Drugget and ridden by Drugget
2. Hermit owned by Mr J Why
3. Who’d-a’thought-it owned by Mr H Colless

By the turn of the century racing was organised by the Brewarrina Amateur Turf Club, with the highlight of the racing year being the Brewarrina Cup over 6 furlongs. A remarkable thing happened in 1906 when horses owned by Mr G Murray and ridden by A E Spence won every race on the card. Their winners were:-
Opening Handicap:- Veno
Fisheries Handicap:- Theory
Lady’s Bracelet:- Veno
Club Handicap:- Theory
Brewarrina Cup:- Guess

Winners of the Brewarrina Cup in the early 20th century
(A full list of winners is available on request)
1906 Brewarrina Cup over 6 furlongs was won by Guess owned by Mr G Murray and ridden by A E Spence
1907 Brewarrina Cup over 6 furlongs was won by Good Girl ridden by E P Fennell, beating Toxa
1908 Brewarrina Cup over 6 furlongs was won by Comrade owned by Mr V Stagg, beating Good Girl and Losa
1909 Brewarrina Cup over 6 furlongs was won by Victor (Evens fav) owned by Mr D Fennell, beating Comrade (3/1) and Kittawa (3/1)
1910 Brewarrina Cup over 6 furlongs was won by Rosebud (3/1) owned by Messrs A K Jones and C Stewart, beating Victor (4/6 fav) and Duxa (3/1) 4 ran
1911 Brewarrina Cup over 6 furlongs was won by Le Cheval owned by Mr Elliott, beating Kiengal and Longfellow

By the mid-century the Bewarrina Jockey Club was organising the races, with two of the Cup results from this period shown below:-
1969 The Brewarrina Cup ($1,060 and a £50 trophy presented by Mr P J Barrett, Jockey Club President) was won by Gaivid owned by Mr & Mrs A D Fisher and ridden by Harry Williams, beating Beau Brandy and Coola Lad 11 ran
1970 The Brewarrina Cup was won by Dawn Idol (3/1) owned by Mr T M Gadsby and ridden by R J Williams, beating Bas Bleu (3/1) and Gypsy Lad (3/1) 9 ran

Recent Brewarrina Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 The Brewarrina Cup ($3,500) over 1200 metres was won by Crowtreno (15/4) trained by Martin Fernando and ridden by Kacie Chater, beating Grimm and Heresy 7 ran
2010 The Brewarrina Cup meeting was abandoned after 3 races
2011 The Brewarrina Cup ($3,500) over 1200 metres was won by Excellent Plus (9/1) trained by Rodney Robb and ridden by Kacie Adams, beating Tollado and Dextrus 10 ran
2012 The Brewarrina Cup ($3,500) over 1200 metres was won by Mountain Brew (9/2) trained by Martin Fernando and ridden by J Hammond, beating Borsha’s Warrior and Excellent Plus 7 ran
2013 The Brewarrina Cup ($5,500) over 1200 metres was won by Superbad (7/2) trained by Cindy Monaghan and ridden by Jeff Kehoe, beating Laugh Adam and Relentless Lad 5 ran
2014 The Brewarrina Cup ($5,500) over 1200 metres was won by Blades of Glory (5/2) trained by Rodney Robb and ridden by Michael Hackett, beating Ten To Zero and Azarax 6 ran
2015 The Brewarrina Cup was cancelled
2016 The Brewarrina Cup ($5,800) held in November over 1200 metres was won by A Tissue A Tissue (2/1) trained by Andrew Gary and ridden by Chris Williams, beating Subtlety and Divine Design 6 ran
2017 The Brewarrina Cup ($5,580) over 1200 metres was won by Friendsinlowplaces (4/1) trained by George Wright and ridden by Chelsea Ings, beating He’s A Pius and British Bulldog 8 ran

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

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235 former courses