Moonee Valley Racecourse is situated in Moonee Ponds, approximately four miles from the centre of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, southeastern Australia. The racecourse was established, as a private speculation, by William Samuel Cox in 1883 and, despite a difficult history, which has seen it resist the advances of property developers on more than one occasion, remains a world-class racing facility. Moonee Valley Racecourse is probably best known for the Cox Plate, the premier weight-for-age race in Australia and one of the highlights of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. Whether online playing kingjohnnie aussie pokies or real world attending the races, there is definitely a certain flavour and feel to Australia.

Course Characteristics

Moonee Valley Racecourse has the distinction of being the only one in Australia to race on StrathAyr turf, which consists of grass on a reinforced sand base. The tight, left-handed turning course is 1,805 metres, or nine furlongs, in circumference, with 7.5º banked bends and a very short home straight, just 173 metres, or 189 yards, long. The course rises significantly throughout the last half mile but, even so, horses that like to race on, or close to, the pace have a distinct advantage. Sprint races are run around one or two sharp bends, so there is a definite bias towards horses drawn on the inside.

Track Facts

The W.S. Cox Plate, named in memory of the racecourse founder, is run over 2,040 metres, or just over a mile and a quarter, in October each year.

Six horses have achieved the Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup double in the same season, the most recent being Makybe Diva in 2005.

Rising Fast, in 1954, is the only horse in history to have completed the Caulfield Cup-Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup treble in the same season.

The first meeting on Southwell Racecourse, in its current location, in Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, took place in 1898. The course has seen many changes over the years, most notably the opening of the hurdles track in 1965 and the opening of the all-weather track in 1989. Southwell is less busy than the all-weather tracks at Lingfield, Kempton and Wolverhampton, but still plays host to 57 Flat and National Hunt meetings all year round.

Course Characteristics

The round course at Southwell is a left-handed, sharp, Fibresand oval, a mile and a quarter around, with a three furlong home straight. Races over five furlongs and over a mile and threequarters start on a chute, which joins the round course at the top of the home straight. Fibresand is a deeper, looser surface than Polytrack, more akin to soft, sandy soil.

On the National Hunt course, there are seven stiff portable fences, or five fixed-brush flights of hurdles, per circuit.

Track Facts

No Pattern or Listed races, on the Flat, or Graded races, over Jumps, are run at Southwell.

Southwell was closed for five months in 2007 and two months in 2012/13 because of flooding.

Longchamp Racecourse or, in French, Hippodrome de Longchamp, is set in 57 hectares on the outskirts of the French capital, Paris, between the Bois de Boulogne and the River Seine. Horse racing first took place at Longchamp in 1857, but nowadays the racecourse with the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, run over 2,400 metres (just over a mile and a half) on the first Sunday in October each year. In total, Longchamp Racecourse stages 29 Flat fixtures between April and October, which include no fewer than 16 Group 1 races.

Course Characteristics

Longchamp Racecourse is famous for its variety of interlaced courses, ranging in length from 1,000 metres (approximately five furlongs) to 2,750 metres (approximately a mile and threequarters). The 2,400 metre course is characterised by a hill, which climbs to a height of 30 metres, or nearly 100 feet, alongside the Bois De Boulogne and the so-called false straight, fully 800 metres (approximately half a mile) from the winning post. With the exception of the straight 1,000 metre course, on which the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp is run, all the courses at Longchamp are right-handed.

Track Facts

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was first run in 1920 to celebrate the Allied victory in World War I.

The last horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice was Alleged, trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden by Lester Piggott, in 1978.

Frankie Dettori, winner of the British Flat Jockeys’ Championship in 1994, 1995 and 2004, was handed a six-month by the France Galop, the French racing authority, after testing positive for cocaine while riding at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe trials meeting at Longchamp in September 2012. As far as world racecourses go, it’s certainly up there as one to visit!