Adelaide Hills Racecourse – OAKBANK
Oakbank racecourse is famous for hosting the worlds biggest picnic race meeting.
The town of Oakbank in the Adelaide Hills, 49km from Adelaide CBD (25 minutes by car), is the spectacular setting for one of Australia's oldest and most iconic race meetings, the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival.
This unique two-day meeting, run annually on Easter Saturday and Easter Monday since 1876, combines jumps and flat racing.
With well over 100,000 people in attendance across the two days, it is officially the largest picnic race meeting in the world and the home of jumps racing in South Australia.
The tiny population of Oakbank swells exponentially, as paddocks adjacent to the Oakbank racecourse are transformed into camping grounds for the many families and groups taking up residence over the Easter holiday weekend.
Many family activities are scheduled throughout the weekend, and there are carnival rides on the infield of the track for the kids and the young at heart.
The highlight is the historic Great Eastern Steeple, one of Australia's richest horse racing jumps races, run on the Monday in front of a crowd of usually 50,000+ patrons.
Run over a grueling 4950 metres, it is the nation's most colourful and spectacular race, set against a beautiful backdrop, as competitors tackle the quirky and undulating hill course that features famous jumps, including the Fallen Log.
Other major jumps events held at this Oakbank racecourse jumps carnival include the Von Dousa Steeplechase and Classic Hurdle.
Flat racing highlights are the Listed Oakbank Stakes over 1100m and the Onkaparinga Cup for the stayers.
The meeting also stages a 3600m race — the longest race on the flat in Australia.
The course was only in operation for those two days each year in its long and esteemed history until 2009, when two extra fixtures were added — a prelude meeting to the Easter carnival in March and a Christmas meeting in late December.
THE OAKBANK TRACK
The Oakbank racetrack is left-handed, running anti-clockwise. It is an undulating, irregular oval-shaped course.
The flat course is 1800m in length, with an extended course for the jumping events.
The track rises steadily on the jumps course as runners turn out of the straight and head to the top of the track. The home straight is approximately 360 metres.
The home bend has a pronounced downhill run into the straight.
Website Link: oakbankracingclub.com.au
