The two New South Wales towns of Gundagai and Adelong, less than 20 kilometres apart, are located close to the Murrumbidgee River some240 miles and 250 miles respectively south-west of state capital Sydney. Adelong, previously inhabited by the Wiradjuri people, developed in 1853 once gold was discovered in the vicinity of the town when its population rose rapidly into many thousands. Today Gundagai has a population of almost 2,000, and between them the two towns have their own Gundagai-Adelong Racing Club which organises a number of race meetings throughout the year. The highlight of the racing year is the Gundagai Cup over 1800 metres on the second Sunday in April, although it is a close run thing with the Snake Gully Gold Cup over 1400 metres contested on the Friday at the two-day meeting held annually in November. |
| Local Patrons |
Gundagai Jockey Club, Gundagai-Adelong Racing Club |
| Principal Races |
Gundagai Cup, Snake Gully Gold Cup |
Although there were unregistered races prior to 1864, the earliest record of racing in Gundagai was a two-day meeting beginning on Tuesday 5th April 1864 when they were held on a makeshift course in Blackshaw’s paddock organised by the Argyle Jockey Club. The grandstand, covered by an awning, was not well patronised as the charge for admission was 2s 6d per head. However, the racing was competitive, and key results are shown below:-
Tuesday 5th April 1864
Gundagai Maiden Plate £50 over 1 ½ miles
1. Barebones owned by Mr P McAlister and ridden by Mathew McAlister
2. Dan O’Connell owned by Mr Joshua King
3. Brocade owned by Mr H H Voss
Wednesday 6th April 1864
County Stakes
1. Ranger owned by Mr H H Voss
2. Blue-Tailed Fly owned by Mr Curran
3. Ringleader owned by Mr Danoven |
Within a short while management of the races was taken over by the Gundagai Jockey Club and the cards began to resemble modern day cards, with races like the Prince of Wales Stakes and the Town Plate Handicap:-
Tuesday 17th May 1885
Prince of Wales Stakes over 1 ½ miles
1. Wild History owned by Mr J Keefe
2. Jokes owned by Mr J Lloyd
3. Ambassador owned by Mr J Osborne
Wednesday 18th May 1885
Gundagai Town Plate Handicap over 1 ½ miles
1. Spaniard owned by Mr R Hoysted
2. Prudence owned by Mr R Potter
3. Mystery owned by Mr J Learin |
As well as races being organised by the Jockey Club, the South Gundagai Turf Club were also staging races around this time. Once such meeting was held on Monday 24th May 1886, with principal race results shown below:-
Monday 24th May 1886
South Gundagai Handicap (30 sovereigns) over 1 ½ miles
1. Victor owned by Mr S Hawthorne
2. Kilbardo owned by Mr W Paine
3. Jokes owned by Mr J Lloyd
Publican’s Purse (£15) over 1 ¼ miles
1. Dosey owned by Mr W Beaver
2. Hope owned by Mr J Hawthorne
3. Modina owned by Mr W Barton
Willie Ploma Handicap (10 sovereigns) over once round
1. Victor owned by Mr J Hawthorne
2. Dosey owned by Mr W Beaver
3. Milton owned by Mr J Lloyd |
The principal race today is the Gundagai Cup which was certainly fully established by the mid-50s. The Cup was contested over 7 furlongs in 1955 when won by Joy Lad, owned by Gordon Ray and ridden by F McIntyre, beating Maraira and Versher. |
Recent Gundagai Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Gundagai Cup ($16,250) over 1800 metres was won by Regal Celeb (100/3) trained by John Marzol and ridden by Jeff Penza, beating Old Mystique and Fu Who 9 ran
2010 Gundagai Cup ($16,250) over 1800 metres was won by Leica Larrikin trained by Richard Freyer and ridden by Mathew Cahill, beating Granite Bluff and Detroit Song 11 ran
2011 Gundagai Cup ($16,250) over 1800 metres was won by Voice Commander (3/1) trained by Nick Olive and ridden by Billy Owen, beating Magpie Speak and Quichang 9 ran
2012 Gundagai Cup ($16,250) over 1800 metres was won by Cosmic Fury (12/1) trained by K Hanley and ridden by B Vale, beating Quichang and Devised 11 ran
2013 Gundagai Cup ($17,460) over 1800 metres was won by Al Ahmar (5/2) trained by Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones and ridden by Carl Spry, beating Dance Man and Ceccanti 10 ran
2014 Gundagai Cup ($17,460) over 1800 metres was won by Al Ahmar (13/2) trained by Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones and ridden by Richard Bensley, beating Jo Jo Girl and Olly I Am 10 ran
2015 Gundagai Cup ($17,460) over 1800 metres was won by Landlocked (11/10 fav) trained by Joe Cleary and ridden by Nick Souquet, beating Liming and Heysen 7 ran
2016 Gundagai Cup ($17,460) over 1800 metres was won by Lord De Air (6/4 fav) trained by Paul Murray and ridden by Winona Costa, beating All Giving and Jo Jo Girl 10 ran
2017 Gundagai Cup was postponed part way through the meeting after the jockeys deemed the track to be unsafe |
Recent Snake Gully Gold Cup winners
(A full list of winners is available on request)
2009 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£32,500) over 1400 metres was won by Happy Finish (5/1) trained by Matthew Dale and ridden by P Robl, beating New Edge and Brisk Crown 11 ran
2010 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£32,500) over 1400 metres was won by Morosi (7/2) trained by Marc Conners and ridden by Greg Ryan, beating Sebony and Cavalaire Bay 12 ran
2011 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£32,500) over 1400 metres was won by Viva Lass (9/1) trained by Neville Voigt and ridden by Adrian Layt, beating Capital Commander and Lebrachaun 12 ran
2012 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£32,710) over 1400 metres was won by Lebrechaun (15/2) trained by Matthew Dale and ridden by Taylor Lovelock-Wiggins, beating Capital Commander and Happy Finish 9 ran
2013 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£32,710) over 1400 metres was won by Via Facile (6/1) trained by Graeme Spackman and ridden by B Vassallo, beating Back To Zero and Art Thou Ready 12 ran
2014 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£32,710) over 1400 metres was won by Via Facile (12/1) trained by Graeme Spackman and ridden by Jason Collins, beating Full Hand and Landlocked 11 ran
2015 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£32,710) over 1400 metres was won by Zero To Ten (16/1) trained by Jim Scobie and ridden by Nick Heywood, beating Just A Blur and Asclepius 12 ran
2016 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£38,150) over 1400 metres was won by Greipel (15/2) trained by Geoff Duryea and ridden by Brock Ryan, beating Chief In Command and Nat King Cu 12 ran
2017 Snake Gully Gold Cup (£37,750) over 1400 metres was won by Mercurial Lad (100/30) trained by Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones and ridden by Kayla Nisbet, beating Gentleman Max and Bring A Secret 9 ran |
| Course today |
The racecourse continues to operate very successfully. |
| If you have photos, postcards, racecards. badges, newspaper cuttings or book references about the old course, or can provide a photo of how the ground on which the old racecourse stood looks today, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com |
