Ascot Racecourse is the premier thoroughbred track in Western Australia. It hosts meetings from mid-October to late April.
The track dimensions for Ascot Racecourse are as follows:
* Circumference: 2022m
* Home Straight: 294m
* Direction: anti-clockwise
Ascot Racecourse is located about 10km from the Perth CBD which makes it easy for racegoers to drive or catch public transport to the racetrack. The beautiful Swan River is right next to the racecourse and you will see it in the background as horses gallop down the back straight when viewing Ascot on Sky Racing.
Three Group 1 feature races are held at Ascot each year. Contested over the mile (1600m) is the $1 million Railway Stakes which takes place in November. A fortnight later, most of the field meet again in the $1 million Kingston Town Classic which is run over 1800m.
Sprinters aren’t forgotten with the $1 million Winterbottom Stakes run over 1200m. It is held in-between the Railway Stakes and Kingston Town Classic which gives Western Australia three consecutive weeks of quality horse racing.
Another highlight on the calendar is the Group 2 Perth Cup. Up until 2008, the Perth Cup was held over two miles (3200m) before dropping back to 2400m in 2009 with the race being won by Guyno in that year. Recording a time of 2:25.99, Guyno still holds the track record for the 2400m.
The WATC Derby (2400m) was a Group 1 race between 1979-91 and 1994-2011 but is currently a Group 2 event for three-year-old stayers.
Superstars that have won races at Ascot include Better Loosen Up, Kingston Town, Vo Rogue, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Ortensia, Buffering and Western Australia’s own Northerly, also known by his nickname as “The Fighting Tiger.”
Miss Andretti began her career in Western Australia with trainer David Mueller before transferring to Lee Freedman.
