Warwick Farm Racecourse

The verdant surroundings and rustic ambience of Warwick Farm lend a distinct racing charm. While racing takes held on 23 Wednesday afternoons, the Australia Day race meeting in January is the main event. The racecourse is at the centre of a community that takes pride in transforming equine potential into elite performance on the international stage, with state-of-the-art training facilities and Australia’s foremost thoroughbred auctioneer, William Inglis & Son Ltd, located next door.

The Track

Warwick Farm is a racetrack with a perimeter of only 1,937 metres and a straight of 326 metres. The course runs clockwise, and horses enjoy a long run until the first turn in races that start over 1000 metres. The tight curves make it tough to come from behind, especially if wide on the last bend. Therefore, the course favours horses that like to gallop fast. As a result, a horse that can stay at the front of the race may have an edge at Warwick Farm. To win at this tight course, jockeys must navigate the turns skilfully and retain their horse’s momentum.

The Tracks History

William Alexander Long purchased J.H. Stroud’s Warwick Park grant north of Liverpool in the early 1880s. By 1884, he had also built stables and tracks on his property across the river, Chipping Norton. He resided in Chipping Norton until 1901 when the banks foreclosed on him. Grand Flaneur, his most successful horse, won the Melbourne Cup in 1880.

In 1882, he sold the Warwick Park estate to William Forrester, who renamed it Warwick Farm to match his initials. He became one of the most successful trainers of his era, and he and Edwin Oatley were the driving forces behind the founding of the Warwick Farm Racing Club in 1889. Gaulus in 1897 and The Grafter in 1898 were both owned by Forrester. Not long after his last winner, The Watch Dog, won the Ellesmere Stakes at Randwick Racecourse in 1901, Forrester died practically penniless.

Edwin Oatley, who died in 1920, owned the racecourse in the early twentieth century. His son Cecil was the property’s manager for many years until 1924. Percy, another son, was Secretary of the Warwick Farm Racing Club from 1906 to 1914. During WWII, Australian, American, and British forces used the racetrack as a camp. Camp Warwick and HMS Golden Hind were names given to the camp.

Warwick Farm Races

Most Famous Race Held At Warwick Farm

There are two primary races at Warwick Farm, the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes and the Winx Stakes.
The Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes is one of the track’s primary feature races, held during the Autumn Racing Carnival in late February or early March.
The Group 1 Winx Stakes is the other primary race in the spring and is held in August. When Warwick Farm cannot host racing events, the meeting is moved to Randwick Racecourse.

The Last Five Winning Horses Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes

2023 – Anamoe.
2022 – Verry Elleegant.
2021 – Verry Elleegant.
2020 – Te Akau Shark.
2019 – Winx.

The Last Five Winning Horses Winx Stakes

2022 ANAMOE (AUS)
2021 MO’UNGA (NZ)
2020 VERRY ELLEEGANT (NZ)
2019 SAMADOUBT (AUS)
2018 WINX (AUS)

Racecourse Travel & Parking

Warwick Farm is 30 km south of Sydney’s central business district and 2 kilometres from Liverpool City Centre. Warwick Farm is easily accessible, with the Hume Highway, complimentary parking, and a railway station nearby.