The New South Wales town of Warren is located in the Orana Region of the state some 75 miles north-west of the city of Dubbo and enjoys good transport links being connected to the Oxley Highway. The original inhabitants of the region were the Ngiyambaa Aboriginal people prior to European settlers arriving in the area. The explorer John Oxley is known to have been close to the region during his exploration of the Macquarie River in 1818. Racing was first reported in the town in 1867 when a two day meeting was held on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th January. However, it is clear that meetings must have been held prior to this date because the 1867 meeting was so well structured.
Tuesday 15th January 1867
Maiden Plate for 30 sovereigns over 1 ½ miles
1. Ginger owned by Mr D Cameron
2. Crevice owned by Mr Outler
Stockman’s Purse for 15 sovereigns
1. Ginger owned by Mr D Cameron
2. Smuggler owned by Mr McMahon
3. O’Meara owned by Mr W Hume
Wednesday 16th January 1867
Warren Town Plate for 30 sovereigns over 3 miles
1. Alhambra owned by Mr E Readford
2. Rajah owned by Mr J Readford
By 1869 the meetings, organised by the Warren Jockey Club, had become annual events, with a two day meeting held on Tuesday 31st August and Wednesday 1st September. Attendance by the ‘sterner sex’ was good, but there were few of the ‘fair or fairy’ ones in evidence.
Tuesday 31st August 1869
Maiden Plate for 25 sovereigns over 1 ½ miles
1. Adeline owned by Mr T Wild and ridden by Matthews
2. Palestine owned by Mr W Perry
3. Exile owned by Mr H Readford
Ladies Purse for 25 sovereigns over 1 ½ miles
1. Morgan owned by Mr G H Taylor
2. Slane owned by Mr P McMahon
3. Alhambra owned by Mr E Readford
Stockman’s Purse for £15 over 1 ½ miles
1. Viro owned by Mr H Readford
2. Charcoal owned by Mr D Cameron
Today the town has a population in excess of 2,800 inhabitants and has its own racecourse where racing is administered by the Warren & District Jockey Club. At least 4 meetings are staged annually, the highlights of the racing calendar being the Warren Cup held in November and the famous twilight races staged each December. The earliest record of a meeting hosted by the Warren Jockey Club took place in 1969 at Narromine Racecourse.
Recent winners of the Australian Cotton Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Cotton Cup ($7,800) over 1600 metres was won by Slick Sniper (Evens fav) trained by Tracey Bartley and ridden by Michael Travers, beating Steal The Thunder and A Magic Pick 6 ran
2010 Cotton Cup ($6,500) over 1600 metres was won by Dane’s Jewel (9/4) trained by Peter Stanley and ridden by Ken Dunbar, beating Nampara Bullet and Local Bred 6 ran
2011 Cotton Cup ($6,500) over 1600 metres was won by Dane’s Jewel (12/1) trained by Peter Stanley and ridden by Michael Travers, beating Relentless Lad and Tora Tora Tora 8 ran
2012 Cotton Cup ($8,200) over 1600 metres was won by Chiasma (6/1) trained by Frank Hayes and ridden by Mathew Cahill, beating Dane’s Jewel and Poker Pro 12 ran
2013 Cotton Cup ($8,200) over 1600 metres was won by Fox Solid (6/4 fav) trained by Garry McCarney and ridden by Kody Mestor, beating Sergeant Bilko and Noble Crown 7 ran
2014 Cotton Cup ($14,410) over 1600 metres was won by Mossamine (7/4 fav) trained by Clint Lundholm and ridden by Greg Ryan, beating Private Taber and Lord Burghersh 6 ran
2015 Cotton Cup ($16,800), run in February 2016 over 1600 metres, was won by Laugharne (9/1) trained by Brian Young and ridden by Rasit Yetimova, beating Any Blinkin’ Day and Sandy Waters 9 ran
2016 Cotton Cup ($16,800) over 1600 metres was won by Something Borrowed (4/1) trained by Justin Stanley and ridden by Mathew Cahill, beating Our Sarastro and Laugharne 11 ran
2017 Cotton Cup ($16,630) over 1600 metres was won by Red Knot (13/8 fav) trained by Rodney Northam and ridden by Serg Lisnyy, beating Uncle Sugar and Shadow Affair 9 ran
