Royal Randwick Racecourse

This is a great racecourse — only 6 km (3 miles) from central Sydney, it’s a pleasure to visit. There’s plenty of space for members and non-​members alike. The grandstands have indoor and outdoor options, all with great views, and there’s plenty of betting places. The mounting yard is behind the grandstands in the «Theatre of the Horses», which is a really great area to get up close to horses, trainers and jockeys. There’s lots of options for food also. You can even visit the race day stables where the horses are prepared, if you’re interested. It’s not far from all the action, everything’s close. A taxi fare is about $ 15 – 20 from the city and there are public transport options, but nothing direct. Train and bus combination will do it. Overall it’s a great venue.

I’ve never been to the races before I came to Sydney. Since moving here a year ago, I have been to the races three times now. The first time was for a friend’s birthday in October, second time was for St Patty’s Day and the third time was this past Saturday.
I live right across the road from the race course, so it’s super handy. St Patty’s day was rainy and a bit miserable but this past Saturday, the weather was nice and sunny. The first race starts at about one but you gotta get there somewhat early to grab a table, otherwise you’re in heels standing all day.
Be warned, if you are in the general admission area, you will have to pee in a porta-​potty. It’s surprisingly clean though.
Overall a pretty good venue — drinks can be a bit expensive, so pre-​drinking is a must. Certain sections will charge you more for drinks, which I think is a bit ridiculous. You do get hungry after a day of drinking so the sausages or «snags» can be pretty tempting.
It’s fun to see all the people drunk and dressed up in their finest. Can get a bit expensive with betting, drinking and eating, but good fun.

What girl doesn’t live to frock up in her Sunday best, guzzle champagne all day whilst winning and motza AND meeting handsomely dressed men? (… yes they actually manage to come out of the woodwork on race day.) Ever since the hugely popular Princesses Welcome campaign, Randwick racing has somewhat lost its glamorous edge for the not so princess-​like behaviour of fillies who imbibe a few too many bubbles by day’s end. Tip: frivolous fillies are easily avoided if you stick to the Champagne Bar. The ladies bathrooms are impressive (in the Champagne Bar)… and there are so many you will NEVER have to line up!!! World first. It’s important to eat, however, which does command lining up. Just make sure you take your flute to the cafeteria or face dying of dehydration before you get to the front of the queue. Be on your best behaviour in case you do meet a handsome catch, and make sure you’re studied up on the form so you can wow him with your horsy knowledge for instant mega brownie points. With any luck he’ll have a couple of tips… you’ll both win a motza… and will head out into the evening with oodles of cash spilling from your clutch and that handsome catch in hand!

The Royal Randwick Racecourse hosts multiple racing events every year which attracts thousands of people through its gates. The seasons for racing are typically in Autumn and Spring with patrons flocking to the racecourse for a day of entertainment. Racing in Australia is a big industry and on Melbourne Cup Day, it’s truly a race which «stops a nation». Everyone dresses up in their finest with new season dresses and fascinators. There are also competitions for men and women based on best dressed categories. Champagne is flowing and there is plenty to eat. Marquees are common, but are popular at Melbourne’s Flemington racecourse rather than the Royal Randwick.
There are plenty of betting facilities and the staff are super friendly and only too willing to help explain the process for gambling newbies like myself. The actual racecourse is very run-​down and could do with a major renovation. However, the events hosted by the racecourse are popular year after year as people from all over come to see the horses race.

Randwick racecourse is a pretty old place. Not that it’s falling down (actually some bits are) but it is being knocked down. There are only a couple more race meetings to go before it’s closed for a year and totally renovated bringing it into the new century!
Hopefully the ‘meeting tree’ isn’t knocked down. This tree which is nothing more than a tree with a sign calling it the ‘meeting tree’ is a god send for people wanting to, well meet people.
From there, there are a number of options. You can stay in the front area where you pretty much don’t see a thing. It’s not a bad place but somewhat defeats the purpose of heading out to the races.
You can try the members area but don’t bother if you don’t have a members badge. The bookies ring is funnily enough where most of the bookies are. Serious punters can compare prices with each bookmaker in order to find the best price. Once you find the best price, you need to find the winner of the race or else the best price, I can tell you, equates to nothing.
The bookies area conduces itself to basically gambling activities so if you’re looking for more you best head elsewhere. The stands, whilst quite old are still standing (for now) and probably the best place to view the races. Seats aren’t reserved so you can go in to grab a drink and place a bet as you please but you may not find yourself back where you were previously. You probably wont be far though so it’s not the end of the world.
If the grass is more your thing then there is grass a plenty. You can try get close to the parade ring and watch the horses, well parade (gee the racing folk make it easy for the non initiated). The majority cluster from the 50m — 150m mark where you’ll come across large groups socialising (read drinking and to a lesser extent eating) or if you have some kids then maybe head a bit further away from the action where there are wide spaces for the youngsters to run around.
If you go on a big race day you may even prefer to go to a ‘private’ marquee where you can enjoy your privacy with hundreds of others. Food and drinks are included in the price. And at that price, they’d want to be!
Plenty of options and plenty of fun to be had, all before it gets knocked down and rebuilt. Oh and I forgot to mention, there’s actually horse races there too!