The New South Wales town of Collarenbri lies on the Barwon River in the Walgett Shire area of the state. Its name is derived from the indigenous word galariinbaraay which means place of eucalyptus blossom, the language of the Gamilaroi Aboriginal tribe who resided in the area before white settlers arrived. The earliest evidence of white settlers was in 1860 when William Earl decided to open a pub, ‘The Squatters Arms’ to satisfy the thirst of the many travellers through the area. Today the population of the town is less than 900, yet it still has its own very successful racecourse. The earliest record of results from the town was in 1896, although even by that stage the meetings were referred to as annual races. That early meeting, billed as the Collarenebri Amateur Hospital Races, was held on Thursday 3rd December 1896, opened appropriately enough with the Opening Handicap in which Outcast beat Redeemer and Gypsy. This was followed by the Barwon Handicap which went to Insurgent, and the District Plate where Coolgardie defeated Redeemer. However, the most exciting race of the day was the principal race, the Collarenebri Handicap which resulted in a triple dead-heat between Plover, Redeemer and Insurgent. In the run-off Plover proved too strong for the other pair.
The next year the meeting extended to two days, running from Thursday 1st to Friday 2nd July 1897, and saw the July Stakes go to Oriel, the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, in which Marmion beat Sleep and Theorem, while the feature Hospital Handicap saw Keith defeat Sleep.
The photo below is shown courtesy of the North West Champion from Saturday 7th December 1929
1928 The Gold Cup over 7 furlongs was won by Lass Arrol (8/1) ridden by Williams, beating Royal Bout and Bright Lad
1929 The Gold Cup was won by Oronsay owned by Mr Weber, beating Talmoi owned by Mr J Y Black by a head
1930 The Gold Cup was won by Rosenalt (8/1) beating Trill and Sandwheel 13 ran
Today racing is administered by the Collarenebri Jockey Club, the highlight of the racing year being the Collarenebri Cup over 1400 metres traditionally held on the second Saturday in September.
Recent Collarenebri Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2008 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,200) over 1400 metres was won by Your Lates Trick (3/1) trained by Thomas Poppa and ridden by D Fraham, beating Faux Pas and Miss Sarah Jane 8 ran
2009 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,200) over 1400 metres was won by Prince Raheed (5/1) trained by Kylie Kennedy and ridden by Kacie Chater, beating Nardoola Kid and Faux Pas 7 ran
2010 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,200) over 1400 metres was won by Temperate Prince (7/2) trained by Robbie Harrison and ridden by James Geppert, beating The Bargain and Local Bred 10 ran
2011 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,200) over 1400 metres was won by Éclair Magique (8/1) trained by Thomas Popp and ridden by Tiffany Jeffries, beating Temperate Prince (1/5 fav) and Noble Heart 4 ran
2012 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,540) over 1400 metres was won by Platinum Touch (16/1) trained by Rodney Robb and ridden by Justin W Stanley, beating Relentless Lad and Mr Braveheart 10 ran
2013 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,540) over 1400 metres was won by Sergeant Bilko (11/10 fav) trained by Lindsey Kennedy and ridden by Ken Dunbar, beating Temperate Prince and Arakoon 3 ran
2014 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,540) over 1400 metres was won by Sensational Moment (4/1) trained by Colin Edgar and ridden by Michael Hackett, beating Temperate Prince and Shen Long 5 ran
2015 The Collarenebri Cup ($4,540) over 1400 metres was won by Dark Mojo (Evens fav) trained by Brett Thompson and ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes, beating Over In Killarney and Knot Out 3 ran
2016 The Collarenebri Cup meeting was abandoned
2017 The Collarenebri Cup ($5,825) over 1400 metres was won by Our Boy Danny (11/4) trained by Nathan Sinclair and ridden by Shane Arnold, beating Cool Rules and Drummed Out 7 ran
