Geelong Racing Club

The first Geelong horse race  was held on 1st May 1841 at Corio. On this day there were three races, the first a two horse event won by Juliet ridden by her owner T. Wright. On 4th February 1843 another meeting was held three miles West of Geelong nearby to Fyansford Inn.

The first official annual Geelong race meeting was held over two days on the 29th February and 1 March 1844 at a restructured course over one and a half miles and 300 yards. Apart from Fyansford, many other meetings were held in the early days. These include North Shore, Belmont, Lara, Birregurra, Inverleigh, Leigh Road, Winchelsea, Moriac, Meredith, Queenscliff, Portarlington, Drysdale and Torquay. The Portarlington course can still be seen today and the Belmont meetings were held on the present site of the rifle range in Breakwater Road.

In 1849 a 727 acre site on flats beside the Barwon River was chosen for the Marshalltown racecourse. The annual Winter meetings were washed out due to the Barwon flooding and in 1907 the racecourse and the showgrounds were relocated to its present site on Breakwater Road. The first meeting was held by the St Patrick's Day Celebration Committee in March 1908. After that meeting, extensive improvements were carried out and on 12th December 1908 the Geelong Racing Club held it's inaugural meeting on the track.