Elwick Racecourse, also known as Hobart Racecourse, is the main race track in Tasmania. The Hobart Cup run at Group 3 level is their major race each year.
Located around 10km from the Hobart CBD, Elwick Racecourse is located in Glenorchy.
The Elwick Racecourse track dimensions are as follows:
* Circumference: 1990m
* Home Straight: 350m
* Direction: anti-clockwise
Held in February, Tasmania’s biggest race, the Hobart Cup is run over 2400m under handicap conditions. It carries $200,000 in prize money and is supported by three Listed races. The Thomas Lyon Stakes over 1400m, the Strutt Stakes over 2100m and Elwick 2YO Stakes over 1100m make up the undercard on Hobart Cup Day.
Dating back to 1875, the Hobart Cup was first held on February 11 over two miles when claimed by Ella, a four-year-old mare ridden by W Rawlings. The race has had several distance changes throughout its history with distances varying between 2100m to 3200m. Between 2004-06 it held Group 2 status but has since dropped back to Group 3 level.
The 1972 Hobart Cup is memorable with the George Hanlon-trained Piping Lane claiming victory. The gelding would go on to win the Melbourne Cup later that year. Another Melbourne Cup winner, The Assyrian (1882), would claim the 1883 Hobart Cup. No other horse has won the Hobart Cup-Melbourne Cup double.
Other feature races held as part of the Tasmania Summer Racing Carnival include the Listed Hobart Guineas run over 2100m for three-year-olds, the Group 3 Bow Mistress Trophy over 1200m for fillies and mares and the Listed Tasmanian Derby over 2200m.
A total of 21 race meetings are staged at Elwick Racecourse each year, according to the Tasmanian Racing Club. There is a harness racing track inside the thoroughbred track and also a greyhound track inside the harness track allowing all three racing codes to conduct meetings on a regular basis.
