Ellerslie Racecourse

File:Ellerslie Racecourse Main Stands.jpg

The main stand at Ellerslie Racecourse

Ellerslie Racecourse is the main racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand, for thoroughbred racehorses. It is an undulating, grass circuit of approximately 1,900 m in the suburb of Ellerslie.

History

Horses have raced at Ellerslie since 1857 when Robert Graham hosted a race meeting on his property, on the site which is now Ellerslie Racecourse. The Auckland Racing club then purchased thirty-six hectares of land from Graham in 1872 on which the course is situated.

The first race meeting of the Auckland Racing Club was held at Ellerslie on 25 May 1874. At this time the racecourse was a considerable distance outside the city and it took Aucklanders up to several hours to get to the course by carriage. Many took the trains, though with the demand created by the event, as late as in 1910 they often had to travel in open cattle trucks because there were not enough normal coaches available for the demand of the extra services.

A publication compiled by E.G. Sutherland, held in Sir George Grey Special Collections called Auckland Cup history makes note of the importance of the aesthetic appeal of Ellerslie Racecourse.

“It seems worthy of mention that by making Ellerslie attractive the Auckland Racing Club has added to the popularity of the sport. Ellerslie’s attractive outlook has been partly responsible for bringing thousands of visiting racing patrons within its borders to witness the best class of thoroughbreds in action. It’s well laid out floral beds, ponds and large variety of choice trees and palms have drawn kudos from Royalty, Governors, Viceroys, tourists and visitors from all parts of the world.”

Even Queen Elizabeth visited Ellerslie Racecourse during the royal visit in 1953/4.

Ellerslie Racecourse was the location of the first automatic totalisator, designed by George Julius and installed in 1913.

During the 20th century, Ellerslie Racecourse provided plants for Kingseat Hospital.

Champion racehorses to have raced at Ellerslie include Kindergarten, Balmerino, Bonecrusher, Uncle Remus, Japan Cup winner Horlicks, Il Tempo, Mr Tiz, Sunline (who was buried at the racecourse in 2009) and Jimmy Choux.

Ellerslie is home to two of New Zealand's major racing carnivals - the Summer Carnival and Auckland Cup Week. The Summer Carnival is run in the Christmas-New Year period with Boxing Day and New Year's Day formerly being home to the New Zealand Derby and Auckland Cup respectively, but these were moved to the new Auckland Cup Week in March 2006.

Steeplechasing

Stteplechasing at Ellerslie features the well-known "hill", a part of the course not used for flat racing. The major steeplechase at Ellerslie, the Great Northern Steeplechase, requires the horses to climb this hill 3 times in the 6400m event.

Races

The following is a list of Group races which are run at Ellerslie Racecourse.

Grp	Race Name	Age	Sex	Weight	Distance	Date
1	Zabeel Classic	Open	Open	wfa	2000	December
1	Railway Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1200	January
R	Karaka Million	Restricted 2yo	Open	sw	1200	January
1	New Zealand Derby	3YO	Open	sw	2400	March
1	Auckland Cup	Open	Open	hcp	3200	March
1	Diamond Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1200	March
1	New Zealand Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	2000	March
1	Easter Handicap	Open	Open	hcp	1600	April
2	Eight Carat Classic	3YO	Fillies	sw	1600	December
2	Great Northern Guineas	3YO	Open	sw	1600	January
2	Royal Stakes	3YO	Fillies	sw	2000	January
2	City of Auckland Cup	Open	Open	hcp	2400	January
2	Rich Hill Mile	Open	Open	hcp	1600	January
2	Championship Stakes	3YO	Open	sw	2100	April
2	Darley Plate	Open	Open	wfa	1200	March
3	Lindauer Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	2000	November
3	Great Northern Challenge Stakes	Open	Open	wfa	1600	November
3	Eclipse Stakes	2YO	Open	sw	1200	January