The South Australia town of Naracoorte is located in the Limestone Coastal region of the state, some 210 miles south-east of the state capital Adelaide, and just 63 miles north of Mount Gambier. Its name was taken from the Aborignal word meaning ‘large waterhole’ and came into being in the mid-1840s when the towns of Kincraig and Narracoorte merged to form the town of Naracoorte. The town has its own racecourse located just 2 ½ miles from the town centre, with racing administered by the Naracoorte Racing Club. One of its earliest meetings was on Wednesday 14th February 1877, organised by the Naracoorte Turf Club, with details of the principal races shown below:-
Naracoorte Handicap (80 sovereigns) over 2 miles
1. Local Harry owned by Mr A Smith and ridden by Patterson
2. Sepia owned by Mr A McIntyre and ridden by Delaney
Kincraig Plate (50 sovereigns) over a mile
1. George Frederick owned by Mr A Smith and ridden by Patterson
2. Planet owned by Mr John Miller and ridden by Barton
3. Midge owned by Mr A W McPherson and ridden by Mc Sorley

In the early part of the 20th century the racecourse was also used by the Apsley Racing Club, but their meetings were not always successful. The meeting held on Tuesday 17th March 1908 was very badly attended, although the feature race, the Border Cup over 1 ¼ miles, was won by Mr R G Neale’s Ventulist, defeating Galway Lad and Camarilla. Two years later, on Wednesday 16th March 1910, the Naracoorte Handicap over 1 ¼ miles was won by Miss D Daenke’s Blackstone:-
Wednesday 16th March 1910
Naracoorte Handicap over 1 ¼ miles
1. Blackstone owned by Miss D Daenke and ridden by H D Campbell
2. Rich Peer owned by Mr R Brennan and ridden by B Powell
3. Camarilla owned by Mr R Griffiths and ridden by A Muirhead

Traditionally, in the early years of the 20th century, the Naracoorte Racing Club held one meeting per year, a 2 day fixture in March. In 1921 the finances were in such good order that the Club decided to improve their facilities, erecting a new set of rails and building a new Tote house.

Today the principal race is the Naracoorte Cup over 2000 metres which is contested each February. One of the most recent events took place on Sunday 11th February 2018, with the result shown below:-
Sunday 11th February 2018
Naracoorte Cup ($18,000) over 2000 metres
1. Evenmoreaction (5/1) trained by Michael O’Leary and ridden by Shayne Cahill
2. Hasta La Thomas trained by Sue Murphy and ridden by Victor Wong
3. Costa Lante, trained by Sue Laensch and ridden by Justin Huxtable
7 ran

Naracoorte Cup Winners
2010 The Naracoorte Cup ($18,760) over 2000 metres resulted in a dead-heat between Avacan (2/1 fav) trained by Sue Laensch and ridden by Matthew Neilson, and Fraaclase (18/1) ridden by Kane Post, with Sandhill Prince in third 14 ran
2011 The Naracoorte Cup ($18,760) over 200 metres was won by Irish High King (4/1) trained by D W O’Leary and ridden by Dom Tourneur, beating Daydream Charlie and Sandhill Prince 14 ran
2012 The Naracoorte Cup ($18,760) over 200 metres was won by Club Royale (14/1) trained by Lee Creek and ridden by Holly McKecknie, beating Country Run and Bishop of Derby 14 ran
2013 The Naracoorte Cup ($18,760) over 200 metres was won by Evenmoreaction (11/10 fav) trained by Michael O’Leary and ridden by Matthew Neilson, beating Club Royale and Carthy Road 7 ran
2014 The Naracoorte Cup ($18,760) over 200 metres was won by Tonto’s Pride (16/1) trained by Sue Laensch and ridden by Krystal Bishop, beating Texan Warney and Bojani 11 ran
2015 The Naracoorte Cup ($18,760) over 200 metres was won by Woakwine (7/4 fav) trained by Jamie Opperman and ridden by Dom Tourneur, beating Bojani and Bredlign 12 ran
2016 The Naracoorte Cup ($20,000) over 200 metres was won by Hasta La Thomas (6/1) trained by Sue Murphy and ridden by Justin Potter, beating Hadda Couple and Sandhill Chief 6 ran
2017 The Naracoorte Cup ($20,000) over 200 metres was won by Bella Sposa (9/1) trained by David Jolly and ridden by Jason Holder, beating Mista Holyfield and Sanzio 8 ran
2018 The Naracoorte Cup ($18,760) over 200 metres was won by Evenmoreaction (5/1) trained by Michael O’Leary and ridden by Shayne Cahill, beating Hasta La Thomas and Costa Lante

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