Oakbank Racecourse, also but less frequently known as the "Onkaparinga Racecourse", is home of the
Oakbank Racing Club
Oakbank Racing Club, formerly the Onkaparinga Racing Club, is a thoroughbred horse racing organization in South Australia. It is responsible for the Oakbank Racecourse and running the events of the Easter Racing Carnival on that course, culminating ...
, a club which, until 2009, raced just twice annually,
Easter Saturday
Easter Saturday, on the Christian calendar, is the seventh day of Eastertide, being the Saturday of Easter or Bright Week. In the kalendar of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturday o ...
and
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...
at the
Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival The Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival is a horse-racing meeting held over two days by the Oakbank Racing Club at the Oakbank Racecourse located in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. The carnival is a mixture of flat and jumping races, with two and ...
, and has done continually since 1876, except during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
when it was held at
Victoria Park and
Morphettville Racecourse
Morphettville Racecourse is the main horse racing Race track, course for the Australia, Australian state of South Australia, incorporating two separate tracks. Home to the South Australian Jockey Club, it is situated in the Adelaide suburb of ...
due to the army taking over the facility.
Located in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
's
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...
, it is the home of steeplechasing and jumping in SA, which combines with flat racing over the festival, including the famous
Great Eastern Steeplechase
The Great Eastern Steeplechase was an Australian Thoroughbred steeplechase horse race held annually at Oakbank, South Australia on Easter Saturday and Monday at the Oakbank Racecourse as part of the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival. The first fi ...
and classic Harry D. Young Hurdle.
Brooklyn Park Jockey Jack McGowan was a regular and prominent identity in the late 1800s and early 1900s on horses such as Strike and All Fours. Jack won the Harry D Young Hurdle on Jack Spratt and also run close seconds in the Great Eastern Steeplechase and Oakbank Hurdle on Edirol and Culleraine.
In 2019 Oakbank Easter Saturday was still South Australia's most attended race day in the SA racing calendar hosted by Oakbank racing club.
Oakbank Week is held each year on the Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday prior to Easter Sunday, except in 2020 when it was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Easter Saturday at Oakbank now attracts crowds of over 20,000, when the feature Great Eastern Steeplechase is run. The racing carnival used to attract massive crowds, with about 40,000 attending the Saturday meeting and up around 70,000 attending on Easter Monday.
From 2009 the inaugural Oakbank Prelude Raceday has taken place two weeks before Easter, marking the first time that a separate meeting to the Easter Carnival has taken place at Oakbank. The famous Von Doussa Steeplechase is run on this program.
Jumps-racing controversy
The Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival has received backlash from the
RSPCA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...
Australia,
Animals Australia
Animals Australia is an Australian animal protection organisation. Its aim is to investigate and expose animal cruelty, inspire kindness to animals through public awareness campaigns—particularly focused on farmed animals—and provide funding ...
, and The Humane Society International Australia for the number of deaths associated with jumps-racing. There have been 7 reported horse deaths during jumps-races at Oakbank since 2010, including 2 in 2010, 1 in 2011, 2 in 2012, 1 in 2014 and 1 in 2017. In Australia in 2021, Victoria and South Australia are the only states where jumps-racing is conducted.
On October 1, 2021, it was announced that jumps racing will no longer be conducted in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
mainly due to the small number of South Australian jumps horses. There were plans to run the Great Eastern and Von Doussa Steeplechase as a flat race. However on 3rd March 2022 it was announced that would not happen. However, many jumps racing supporters attempted to keep jumps racing at Oakbank and that fight went into the South Australian Court System. That would result in an election occurring which the anti-jumps faction won but debate surrounding that vote spilled into more legal action. But not long after the South Australian Government stepped in and outlawed jumps racing in the state.
References
External links
Oakbank Racing Club
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Horse racing venues in Australia
Sports venues completed in 1876
1876 establishments in Australia