MORPHETTVILLE RACECOURSE |
Aintree racecourse;Ascot;Ayr;Bangor;Bath;Beverley;Brighton;Carlisle;Cartmel;Catterick;Cheltenham Festival;Chepstow;Chester;Doncaster St Leger;Epsom Derby;Exeter racecourse;Fakenham;Folkestone;Fontwell Park;Glorious Goodwood;Hamilton Park;Haydock Park;Hereford Racecourse;Hexham;Huntingdon;Kelso;Kempton Park;Leicester;Lingfield;Ludlow;Market Rasen;Musselburgh;Newbury Racecourse;Newcastle;Newmarket;Newton Abbot;Nottingham;Perth;Plumpton;Pontefract Racecourse;Redcar;Ripon;Salisbury;Sandown Park;Sedgefield;Southwell;Stratford;Taunton;Thirsk;Towcester;Uttoxeter;Warwick;Wetherby;Wincanton;Windsor;Wolverhampton;Worcester;Yarmouth;York Ebor
Earliest Meeting: 1875 |
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Local Patrons | Sir John Morphett |
Principal Races | Adelaide Cup, South Australian Derby |
It hosts 4 Group One
races annually, including the Australian Oaks for 3 year old fillies run over 2000 metres
in April. This was first run in 1951 when won by Gay Comedy, while in 2017 the Australasian Oaks went to Egg Tart.
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In 1979 a fire destroyed the member's stand at Morphettville, causing major races to be transferred to Cheltenham and Victoria Park. However, once Morphettville was re-furbished using the latest technology, it became the principal racecourse in South Australia and the writing was on the wall for both Victoria Park, which closed in 2007, and Cheltenham Park, which closed after the meeting on Saturday 21st February 2009. |
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The photos above, although in the public domain, are shown courtesy of the State Library of South Australia. |
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It
also hosts the Goodwood Handicap in April, an Open race run over 1200 metres. The first
winner of this race was D.O.D. in 1881, while the winner in 2017 was Vega Magic.
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Two further Group races are the Robert Sangster Stakes over 1200 metres and the South Australian Derby for 3 year olds over 2500 metres. The first winner of the former race was Ranees Place in 1983 and in 2017 it was won by Secret Agenda. The most famous race run at the track is the Derby which was first run in 1860 when won by Midnight. In 2017 South Australian Derby was won by Volatile Mix. | |
Course today | The course continues to thrive today and is seen as South Australia's premier track. |
If you have photos, postcards, racecards. badges, newspaper cuttings or book references about the old course, or can provide a photo of how the ground on which the old racecourse stood looks today, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com | |
Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:- London Illustrated News Racing Illustrated 1895-1899 The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough The Sporting Magazine A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8 Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727 |
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 978-0-9957632-3-4 264 pages 235 former courses |
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Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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