The New South Wales town of Yass, on the Yass River which is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River, lies in the Southern Tablelands region of the state. The town is located about 280 kilometres south-west of the state capital Sydney, but only 60 kilometres from the Australian capital Canberra, and first came to prominence in 1830, having been discovered by Hamilton Hume in 1821 on one of his many expeditions. The town benefits from its own Marchmont Racecourse, on Gums Lane, which first hosted racing in 1901. However, racing in the town has a rich history which dates back to 1836 when the inaugural two-day meeting was held on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st October 1836, with details shown below.

The inaugural meeting, held in October 1836, drew the following comments from The Australian,’ For some time prior to race day drays, loaded with all the luxuries that the wealth and liberality of the dwellers in the district would entitle them to, slowly made their way to the racecourse’. The highlights of the meeting were the Cavan Cup on day one and the Yass Plate on day two. On day one a gun fired just after noon to mark the start of the race.
Thursday 20th October 1836
Cavan Cup over 3 miles
1. Frederick, bay gelding owned by Mr Waddy
2. Mustachio, grey colt owned by Mr F Dutton
3. Adelaide, bay mare owned by Mr Broughton
4. Grimaldi, grey horse owned by Mr Waddy
The winner won in 6 minutes 40 seconds
Yass Ladies Purse (20 sovereigns)
1. Mustachio owned by Mr F Dutton
2. Medora owned by Mr Broughton
3. Creeping Jenny owned by Mr George Davis
Yass Sweepstake (Twice round)
1. Paddy owned by Mr Hanly
2. Miss Fanny owned by Mr F Dutton
3. Ruby-Bred owned by Mr T P Besnard
Friday 21st October 1836
Yass Plate (Twice round)
1. Grimaldi owned by Mr Waddy
2. Adelaide owned by Mr Broughton
3. Paddy owned by Mr Hanly

The inaugural meeting was such a success that meetings were staged on an annual basis, extending to three days by 1840. The meeting that year took place from Tuesday 22nd to Thursday 24th September 1840, although the entries on day one were disappointing. The opening Sweepstake proved to be a match in which Modesty, a bay mare owned by Mr Welch, beat Claret, a bay gelding owned by Mr E Walsh. The Yass Plate (£50) was a walk-over for Mr Walsh with Crockford. The Maiden Plate (£30) was also a walk-over for Mr Christie with The Artful. However, the Yass Ladies Purse was more competitive, with details shown below.
Tuesday 22nd September 1840
Yass Ladies Purse (£30)
1. Hairtrigger, grey gelding owned by Mr Welch
2. The Artful, bay gelding owned by Mr Christie
3. Creeping Jenny, brown mare owned by Mr T Besnard
Wednesday 23rd September 1840
Yass Hurdle over 3 miles and 9 four feet leaps
1. Frederick owned by Mr T Besnard
2. Jupiter owned by Mr Broughton
3. Clinker owned by Mr Christie
Jupiter won the race by a neck but was disqualified for not making the weight

Meetings continued to be popular, well organised and well attended. By the next year the meeting not only extended over 3 days, Wednesday 6th to Friday 8th October, but races now began to fill more easily.
Wednesday 6th October 1841
Yass Sweepstake (£50) twice round
1. Skeleton, 5 year old owned by Mr Watt
2. Napoleon, 4 year old owned by Mr Keighran
3. Shingler, aged horse owned by Mr Broughton
Yass Condition Race £10 for maidens (once round)
1. Guido owned by Mr Mauning
2. Operator owned by Mr Watt
3. Grasshopper owned by Mr Best
Thursday 7th October 1841
Yass Hurdle (£50) over 3 miles and 9 leaps
1. Jupiter owned by Mr Broughton
2. Flying Phenomenon owned by Mr Watt

Today the annual meeting is held on the last Saturday in February or the first Saturday in March, and features the Yass Picnic Cup over 1400 metres.
Recent winners of the Yass Picnic Cup
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Ravensworth Cup ($2590) over 1400 metres was won by Brezina (13/8 fav) trained by G Lukss and ridden by Mr R Anderson, beating Gangleri and Seekadance
2010 Yass Picnic Cup was not held
2011 Ravensworth Cup ($2,590) over 1400 metres was won by Regal Instinct trained by Scott Wade and ridden by Ms J Lindgren, beating Azarax and Bazardo
2012 Yass Picnic Cup was not held
2013 Yass Picnic Cup was not held
2014 Yass Trophy ($2,170) over 1100 metres was won by Belle De Heart (12/1) trained by Scott Wade and ridden by Nyssa Burrells, beating Ramino and Riverwina Prince
2015 Yass Picnic Cup ($3,220) over 1400 metres was won by Cierto Segura (9/2) trained by Kylie Kennedy and ridden by Mr R Blewitt, beating Sea ‘n’ Believe and Red Letters 6 ran
2016 Yass Picnic Cup ($3,220) over 1400 metres was won by Sergeant Bilko (5/2) trained by Mark Cummins and ridden by Mr R Blewitt, beating Centabeel and Image of Darkness 5 ran
2017 Yass Picnic Cup ($4,140) over 1400 metres was won by Kinda Tangy (5/2) trained by Neil Osborne and ridden by Billy Owen, beating Liabilityadjuster and The Real McCoy 10 ran
2018 Yass Picnic Cup ($4,080) over 1400 metres was won by Diamond Charlie (10/11 fav) trained by Neil Osborne and ridden by Billy Owen, beating Coolamine and John Boy 7 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