Hawkesbury Racecourse

Hawkesbury races are held at Hawkesbury Racecourse throughout the year. The NSW provincial club holds around 25 meetings a year that are mostly mid-week on a Thursday.

The early racing pioneers fashioned the race course on 200 acres of virgin bushland in 1865, and the first official race meeting was conducted there in 1871. It is surrounded by wide open spaces, with the Blue Mountains as a backdrop. Phar Lap raced here in a Hawkesbury maiden in March 1929 and was beaten. One of the first champions of Australian racing, Jorrocks, who raced in the 1840’s is buried at Richmond Air Force base which is across the road from Hawkesbury racetrack.

Hawkesbury races don’t have any Group 1 events but they have three Group 3 events on Hawkesbury Gold Cup day in April and some excellent Listed races during the year.

Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m)

Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m)

Group 3 Godolphin Crown (1300m)

Listed Rowley Mile (1600m)

Listed Ladies Day Cup (1600m)

Listed Hawkesbury Rush (1100m)

Hawkesbury Racecourse is easily accessible by train on the Western line. Clarendon Railway Station is right next to the Hawkesbury Race Club and it will only take around 2 minutes to walk from the station. For those travelling by car it is about 65km west of Sydney CBD between Richmond and Windsor, and there is ample free parking.