The village of Carrathool, from the Aboriginal word meaning ‘Native companion’, lies a short distance away from the Murrumbidgee River, and about 3 miles north of the Sturt Highway, in the western Riverina region of New South Wales. One of the earliest records of people making a living in the area was in October 1852 when Mr Rudd used the fertile land to graze his cattle. Today the population is barely 300, yet it hosts its own annual race meeting organised by the Carrathool Jockey Club. The Jockey Club was founded in 1883, holding their inaugural meeting on Wednesday 26th December 1883 on a racecourse on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River near to Mrs McPherson’s Carrathool Hotel.

Boxing Day, Wednesday 26th December 1883
Carrathool 7 sovereigns Maiden Plate
1. Darkie owned by Mr T Whalen
2. Artist owned by Mr George Terry
3. Benshee owned by Mr D Forbes
6 ran
Carrathool 12 sovereigns Handicap
1. Whitehorn owned by Mr George Terry
2. Darkie owned by Mr T Whalen
Carrathool 10 sovereigns Hurdle
1. Dolly owned by Mr John White
2. Old Tom owned by Mr C Anderson

Two years later a meeting was held on St Patrick’s Day, Tuesday 17th March 1885, when the list of winners was:-
Maiden Plate:-Nameless owned by Mr T Vardy
Hurdle Race:-Sarawak owned by Mr J Dillon
Carrathool Handicap:-Sarawak owned by Mr J Dillon
Soudan Shorts Race:-Boyong owned by Mr F J Willsmer
Ladies Bracelet:-Boyong owned by Mr F J Willsmer
After racing Mrs Herriot, at the Carrathool Hotel, provided a handsome and most bountiful dinner.

By the middle of the 20th century the undoubted highlight of the racing year was the Carrathool Cup. The result from 1950 is shown below:-
Saturday 20th May 1950
Carrathool Cup over 7 furlongs
1. Aginbrook (4/5 fav) owned by Mr C Forscult and ridden by T Wilson
2. Gay Hussar (3/1) owned by Mr T Hill and ridden by A Gorry
3. Express (4/1) owned by Mr R A Stewart and ridden by D McKenzie
6 ran

An experiment was tried the next year after the meeting scheduled for Saturday 16th June 1951 had to be abandoned due to wet weather. Instead the meeting was moved to October to coincide with the Caulfield Cup, and whilst it produced a near record crowd, fields were pitifully small, with 3 events ending up as matches. The Carrathool Cup, over 7 furlongs, saw Marshall Tito (5/4) owned by Mr F Dellaney, defeat his sole rival Sir Craven (1/2 fav) owned by Mr R McGregor.

The Carrathool Jockey Club continues to organised well-attended meetings on the first Saturday in March with the highlight of the racing year being the Carrathool Cup over 1400 metres.
Recent Carrathool Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 The Carrathool Cup ($6,500) over 1400 metres was won by Allenby’s Mate (8/11 fav) trained by Ms M Keegan and ridden by D Larsson, beating Beltana and Fastness 4 ran
2010 The Carrathool Cup meeting was abandoned
2011 The Carrathool Cup meeting was abandoned
2012 The Carrathool Cup ($6,500) over 1400 metres was won by Ambergris (11/8 fav) trained by Trevor Sutherland and ridden by Michael Heagney, beating Hawkshaw and Undiscovered 6 ran
2013 The Carrathool Cup meeting was abandoned
2014 The Carrathool Cup ($8,700) over 1400 metres was won by Lockmar (5/4 fav) trained by Trevor Sutherland and ridden by Brooke Sweeney, beating Minou and Zellemsee 5 ran
2015 The Carrathool Cup ($8,700) over 1400 metres was won by Mineral Deposit (7/4 fav) trained by John Marzol and ridden by Megan Taylor, beating General Jay Dee and Mr Sommerville 6 ran
2016 The Carrathool Cup meeting was abandoned
2017 The Carrathool Cup ($8,700) over 1400 metres was won by Mr Sommerville (3/1) trained by Trevor Sutherland and ridden by Megan Taylor, beating Not Too Sure and Liabilityadjuster 7 ran
2018 The Carrathool Cup ($8,660) over 1400 metres was won by Cod Rock (2/1 fav) trained by Kerry Weir and ridden by J Baldock, beating Hangin’ With Willy and Malleable 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