One of the most exciting spectator sports in Australia is thoroughbred horse racing. Worth an approximate AUD $12.5bn to those who enjoy the betting end of racing, this intense, often grueling sport is wagered on by the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) and individual bookmakers. Being the third most popular spectator sport just behind Australian rules football and rugby, thoroughbred racing is split into two separate types: the flat land type, and the hurdle or fence type. The latter type is mostly performed in Victoria and South Australia. An idea as to how popular this sport is shows in the fact that there are just over 360 racetracks throughout Australia.

Administrators of thorough bread racing in Australia are the Australia Racing Board and each individual state in the country must adhere to the Australia Rules of Racing. The most popular races in Australia are held in spring and autumn. Over 100,000 people annually have attending the Melbourne Cup and Victoria Derby. Some of the most important races include the VRC Oaks, Golden Slipper Stakes, Caulfield Cup and the W. S. Cox Plate.

The first horses arrived in Australia in Sydney, New South Wales on ships which were part of the First Fleet in 1788. The first known racing horse was Young Rockingham, who arrived on Australian soil in the year 1797. Born in 1879, Malau was one of the most versatile Australian thoroughbreds and after several wins both the flat and VRC Grand National Hurdle he was commissioned as a sire. Following him were New Zealand’s Carbine and his descendants Phar Lap and Tulloch. Some other racing thoroughbreds of note are Bemborough, Kingston Town, Herioc and Makybe Diva. Horses have been mostly imported from Europe although some arrived from the US later on.

Some of the most notable jockeys in Australian thoroughbred horse racing include Scobie Breasley, Edgar Britt, Mick Dittman, Roy Higgans, George T. D. Moore, Neville Sellwood, Harry White and Bill Williamson. Jockeys of this caliber are some of the absolute best on the planet and many have experimented with the crouched style of riding which was perfected in the year 1800 by Tot Flood and James Barden, upon noticing a similar style practiced by Tod Sloan, who hailed from the US. A famous lady jockey was Wilhemena Smith, who rode under the pseudonym Bill Smith in the mid-1900s since no women jockeys were permitted to race back then. The first female riders to compete against men were Pam O’Neill and Linda Jones in 1979.

Australia is the largest thoroughbred racing country in the world as it holds 66 out of 193 Group One Races worldwide. Of the Group One Races, there are three main categories: 1, Australian Races, 2. State/City/Track races and 3. Historically significant races. National races include the Australian Derby – AJC Easter Carnival, Australian Oaks – AJC Easter Carnival, Australian Cup – VRC Autumn Carnival, Australian Guineas – VRC Autumn Carnival, Australia Stakes – Moonee Valley, and Australian Sires Produce Stakes – AJC Easter Carnival. There are 30 State/City/Track races and 41 historically significant races.

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