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Caulfield Racecourse

Ten kilometres to the south-east of Melbourne, Caulfield racecourse was the site for the Melbourne Hunt Club in the early decades of European settlement. Horseracing began in 1859 and in 1876 the Victorian Amateur Turf Club (VATC, later the Melbourne Racing Club) was formed. The future of the course was assured when the Caulfield railway station was built in 1879. The Caulfield Cup, established in that year, became the first major race of the spring racing calendar. The sharp corners and the short straight gave the course a reputation as a front-runners' track but a substantial reconstruction in 1995 lengthened the straight and widened the track. Spectators' facilities were improved in 1992 when the grandstand was glassed in and refurbished.

June Senyard