Australian Turf Club (ATC) owns and operates thoroughbred racing, events and hospitality venues across

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. The ATC came into being on 7 February 2011 when the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) and the Sydney Turf Club (STC) merged. The ATC primarily operates out of their offices at

Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney r ...

and employs approximately 270 full-time staff and over 1,000 casual staff across the five venues. The venues include Randwick, Rosehill Gardens, Canterbury Park, Warwick Farm and the Rosehill Bowling Club.

History

Australian Jockey Club

The Australian Jockey Club (AJC) was founded in January 1842. It morphed from the former Australian Racing Committee set up in May 1840 to set the standards for racing in the colony. Races were held at the newly established Homebush Course which was headquarters of NSW racing until 1860. The AJC was considered the senior racing club in Australia and was responsible for founding the ''

Australian Stud Book The ''Australian Stud Book'' (ASB), is the body responsible for ensuring the integrity of Thoroughbred breeding in Australia. Australia is the second-largest Thoroughbred breeding country in the world behind the US. The principal functions of t ...

'', which the combined club still oversees today. The club also, in conjunction with the Victoria Racing Club, formulated the ''Rules of Racing'' that are followed by all Australian race clubs.

Sydney Turf Club

The Sydney Turf Club (STC) was founded in 1943 and was the youngest of Australia's principal race clubs. It was formed following an Act passed by the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

parliament called the Sydney Turf Club Act. The Act had taken 40 years to draft and gave the club the power to hold 62 race meetings a year at the tracks and empowered it to wind up other proprietary clubs that still existed in the

area through a special Racing Compensation Fund.

Merger

Both the AJC and the STC had co-existed as independent bodies since the early 1940s. However, the first push for a merger came at the start of the century, with STC chairman Graeme Pash opening up the possibility of a merger during his tenure. Mentioned briefly in jest by ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' journalist Craig Young in 2003, the first real push for a merger came with the release of a report by

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

in June 2009 which recommended that a merger would save the New South Wales racing industry from collapse. The

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

pledged $174 million for Sydney racing if the merger went ahead, including a major revitalisation of

. The move for a merger was controversial, with members of both clubs hesitant to lose their respective identities. While AJC members voted in favour of a merger due to financial issues, STC members voted against a merger as they were financially stable. Nevertheless, the board of the STC decided to proceed with a merger. The Australian Jockey and Sydney Turf Clubs Merger Act 2010 merged the two clubs under the name of the Australian Turf Club.

Venues

Five venues are operated by the ATC: *

Royal Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney r ...

Rosehill Gardens Racecourse The Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is located in the Sydney suburb of Rosehill, New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by the Australian Turf Club. Rosehill holds horse races for thoroughbred gallopers on a grass surface. It is one of the t ...

* Canterbury Park Racecourse *

Warwick Farm Racecourse Warwick Farm Racecourse is a racecourse at Warwick Farm, New South Wales, Warwick Farm, a south-west suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used as a racecourse for Thoroughbred horse racing. The racecourse is owned and operated by ...

* Rosehill Bowling Club

Major races

The Everest The Everest is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race run over 1,200 metres on grass, turf at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. Between 2017 and 2023 the race was classified as Special Conditions class. I ...

Golden Slipper Stakes The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run over 1,200 metres on turf at set weights conditions, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier two ...

Rosehill Guineas The Rosehill Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights run over a distance of 2000 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia annually in March. Total prize money for t ...

* Canterbury Guineas *

Sydney Cup The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series ...

Australian Derby The Australian Derby is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights held at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in April, during the Autumn ATC Championships Carnival. The race is considered to b ...

* Epsom Handicap *

Doncaster Handicap The Doncaster Mile, registered as the Doncaster Handicap is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred handicap race for horses three years old and older, held over 1,600 metres at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia. Although the ra ...

* The Galaxy * All Aged Stakes * Chipping Norton Stakes * Queen Elizabeth Stakes *

Golden Eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

ATC Autumn Carnival and Everest Carnival

ATC's Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival includes the Golden Slipper Carnival at Rosehill Gardens consisting of Ladies Day, Golden Slipper Day and Stakes Day, followed by three racedays at Royal Randwick: The Championships Day 1 (Derby Day), The Championships Day 2 (Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day) and All Aged Stakes Day. The Everest Carnival in spring features the world's richest race on turf - the $15m

, run in October over 1200m at Royal Randwick. It also features the new "Golden Slam", which gives horses the opportunity to win the

at age 2, the Golden Rose at age 3 and the

at age 4, with an added $5 million in prizemoney for the trio. In 2008 the Autumn Carnival was delayed by four weeks due to the 2007 Australian equine influenza outbreak.

References

External links

Australian Turf Club website

External links

Australian Turf Club

Rosehill Gardens

Royal Randwick

Sydney Carnival
{{Authority control Equestrian organizations Horse racing organisations in Australia Horse racing in Australia Horse racing meetings Sport in New South Wales Sports clubs and teams in Sydney 2011 establishments in Australia

History

Australian Jockey Club

Sydney Turf Club

Merger

Venues

Major races

ATC Autumn Carnival and Everest Carnival

See also

References

External links

External links