The South Australian town of Penola is located in the wine growing area of Coonawarra, some 210 miles south-east of the state capital Adelaide. The first Europeans to discover the area were the Austin brothers in 1840, and within 4 years the first settlers, Alexander and Margaret Cameron, arrived. Although the town has a population of less than 1500 inhabitants, it has a thriving racecourse and claims to have staged the first recognised race meeting in South Australia in February 1856, albeit around its streets rather than on a formal racecourse. Indeed, racing did take place before that date, with details of a 3 day meeting staged on 3rd, 4th and 6th March 1853 shown below.

Thursday 3rd March 1853
Penola Plate (£30) over 2 miles
1. Corrobboree owned by Mr Richardson and ridden by Bell
2. Panniean owned by Mr E Stockdale
3. OK owned by Mr T A Wells
4. Conjuror owned by Mr J A C Hunter
Friday 4th March 1853
Penola St Leger (£50) over 1 ½ miles
1. Gutta Persha owned by Mr F Brodribb
2. Becky Sharp owned by Mr J A C Hunter
3. Creole owned by Mr T A Wells
4. Conjuror owned by Mr J A C Hunter

Two years later a meeting was held on Tuesday 6th February 1855 when the principal race was the Penola Plate (£60) over 2 miles which saw Mr John Robertson’s Sark defeat Barefoot and OK. This was followed the next year by an important 3 day meeting held between Friday 5th and Sunday 7th February 1856, with full results from the meeting shown below:-
Friday 5th February 1856
Penola Maiden Plate (30 sovereigns) over 1 ½ miles
1. Highland Donald owned by Mr John Robertson and ridden by Simpson
2. No Good owned by Mr McKinnon and ridden by Matthews
Penola Plate (60 sovereigns) over 2 miles
1. OK (Evens fav) owned by Mr Cunningham and ridden by Seymour
2. Colonel (2/1) owned by Mr John Robertson and ridden by Simpson
2. Sark (4/1) owned by Mr W Robertson and ridden by Robertson
Stewards’ Purse (50 sovereigns) over 3 miles
1. Ballie (6/1) owned by Mr G Glen and ridden by Dunlop
2. Haphazard (1/2 fav) owned by Mr John Robertson and ridden by Seymour
3. War Eagle (8/1) owned by Mr Brodribb and ridden by Brewer
Ladies Bag over 1 mile and the distance
1. Monk owned and ridden by Mr Brodribb
2. Buckie owned and ridden by Mr Seymour
3. Alam owned by Mr O Smith and ridden by Brewer
Saturday 6th February 1856
Penola St Leger (60 sovereigns) over 1 ½ miles
1. Cardigan owned by Mr E Stockdale and ridden by Edward
2. Little John owned by Mr S Robertson and ridden by Simpson
3. Volunteer owned by Mr O Smith and ridden by Teddy
Publicans’ Purse (50 sovereigns) over 2 miles
1. OK (2/1 jt fav) owned by Mr Cunningham and ridden by Seymour
2. Ballie (2/1 jt fav) owned by Mr G Glen and ridden by Dunlop
3. Haphazard (5/1) owned by Mr Robertson and ridden by Simpson
Ladies’ Purse (50 sovereigns) over a mile
1. Conjuror owned by Mr Dunlop and ridden by Dunlop
2. Sark owned by Mr John Robertson and ridden by Seymour
Sunday 7th February 1856
Penola Handicap (40 sovereigns) over 1 ½ miles
1. Midas owned by Mr Hines and ridden by Edward
2. Ballie owned by Mr G Glen and ridden by Dunlop
3. Highland Donald owned by Mr John Robertson and ridden by Simpson
Consolation Stakes (25 sovereigns) over 1 ½ miles
1. War Eagle owned by Mr Brodribb and ridden by Brewer
2. Colonel owned by Mr Robertson and ridden by Simpson
3. Inkerman owned by Mr Dunlop and ridden by Saphet

Meetings were not held in 1859 or 1860, and when racing returned in 1861 the newspapers of the day suggested that ‘the character of the Penola meeting had previously provided an opportunity for settlers of the district, widely separated and having few opportunities to communicate, to meet for 2 or 3 days in a manner calculated to keep up social intercourse and neighbourly feelings’. There was always a popular Ball held on the 3 successive nights of race week.

In the very early years of the 20th Century, after the final meeting was held on the Old Course, the Penola Racing Club looked forward to the opportunity to build a new course on a portion of the Yallum Estate purchased by the Government. The new course, developed on a dry swamp which had no grazing or agricultural use, was prettily situated 2 miles from the town centre. A final meeting was held on the old course on Wednesday 21st February 1906 when the feature race was the Penola Handicap:-
Penola Handicap over 1 ¼ miles
1. The Prior owned by Mr M S McDonald and ridden by T Matthews
2. Royal Nation owned by Mr E J Clarke and ridden by J H Neale
3. Comedienne owned by Mr D McDonald and ridden by S Howie

The current racecourse first staged racing in May 1906 and the facility is well-used, hosting meetings not only organised by Penola Racing Club, but also Kalangadoo Racing Club and Millicent Racing Club. Indeed the Millicent Cup is a popular event, with detailed results shown below.

The principal race organised by the Penola Racing Club is the Penola Cup over 1700 metres which is contested each Easter. Details of recent winners of this prestigious event are shown below:-
2011 The Penola Cup ($12,060) over 1700 metres was won by Havanotherone (6/1) trained by Sue Murphy and ridden by Paul Marks, defeating Sangwala and Scouse 12 ran
2012 The Penola Cup ($12,060) over 1700 metres was won by Club Royale (7/1) trained by Lee Creek and ridden by Holly McKechnie, beating Strike Breaker and Merlot Now 11 ran
2013 The Penola Cup ($12,060) over 1700 metres was won by Sandhill Chief (3/1) trained by Sam Turner and ridden by Chad Lever, beating Manarola Magic and Magic Pulse 10 ran
2014 The Penola Cup ($12,060) over 1700 metres was won by Evenmoreaction (5/1) trained by Michael O’Leary and ridden by Dylan Dunn, beating Gatalistic and Mickiem 11 ran
2015 The Penola Cup ($13,400) over 1700 metres was won by Mr Journeyman (2/1 fav) trained by Simon Morrish and ridden by Clare Lindop, beating Sandhill Chief and Luckzat 11 ran
2016 The Penola Cup ($16,500) over 1700 metres was won by Evenmoreaction (100/30) trained by Michael O’Leary and ridden by Matthew Neilson, beating Hadda Couple and Sandhill Chief 6 ran
2017 The Penola Cup ($16,500) over 1700 metres was won by Evenmoreaction (5/1) trained by Michael O’Leary and ridden by Shayne Cahill, beating Woolsthorpe Store and Mista Holyfield 10 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

264 pages

235 former courses