132 RACEHORSES IN AUSTRALIA 



steamers lying in the docks, and, as if to remind us of the past, the slender 

 masts and furled sails of many a ship and gallant barque, loading for their 

 long trek across the deep seas. 



Warned by the sensible proximity of the abattoirs, the Committee in 

 1903 bought all the rugged stony hill, which lies there close at hand to where 

 we are standing, and disposed of it very cheaply to the Footscray Council, 

 provided always that it should be used as a public garden. It also gained 

 possession of all the land on the far side of the river between the Footscray 

 Hill and the ammunition manufactory, so that any risk of industries being 

 established in the neighbourhood of the course, and which might, in the days 

 to come, emit objectionable odours, has been for ever done away with. There, 

 immediately at our feet, is the Grand Stand, separated from us only by a great 

 gulf which somewhat resembles the barriers restraining the wild animals in 

 their enclosures at the new Zoological Gardens in Sydney. Beneath the Grand 

 Stand lie the very beautiful lawns, in the spring-time gay with flower-beds, and 

 with the rails of the race track festooned artistically with creeping roses. The 

 judge's box and winning post stand opposite the lower end of the stand, and 

 beyond that, and nearer the river, rise the Official and Members' Stand and 

 the Committee and Members' Luncheon Rooms. Here, sheltering the 

 Members' Enclosure and the Betting Ring, rises a delightful little forest of 

 "immemorial elms." In the warm spring days, and in the scorching heat often 

 experienced at the New Year Meeting, members, standing and sitting alongside 

 the rails, the betting public, and the fraternity of bookmakers, have conducted 

 their business for many years past in a leafy and chequered shade, and in an 

 odour of sanctity which almost resembles that of a great cathedral. 



Beyond the betting ring, and close by the river's banks, lies the Bird-cage, 

 where the racers have each their stall, and where they are sheltered from any 

 wind that blows, and from the burning heat of summer suns. A lane runs 

 from the Bird-cage up to the saddling enclosure in front of the Official Stand, 

 and outside the Bird-cage, too, are the Casualty Rooms and various other 

 necessary offices of the Club. Everything is beautifully complete. 



And now look at the race track itself. The straight course, six furlongs 

 in length, and the "course proper," are nearly as level as a table. The 

 Newmarket Course, the only straight six furlongs in Australia, with the excep- 

 tion, I think, of that at Singleton, runs from the foot of the pine-clad hillside 

 where the Members' and Public Drives merge into the general traffic, straight 

 down to the winning post. Half-way to the post it is joined by the course 

 proper, which, some three parts of a furlong past the judge, curves with a 

 perfect racecourse turn to the left. After rounding the bend the horses race 

 along by the river and have a splendid stretch in front of them with only a 

 very slight curve until after passing the mile post. After this the track 

 inclines very gradually left-handed past the seven furlongs, and the Australian 

 Cup Starting Post, and then it rounds gently, like the large end of a great 

 egg, until it joins the straight six again. The track itself is splendidly grassed, 

 and the going is almost always as near to perfection as possible. The circuit 

 of the course is 1 mile 3 furlongs 111 1 -3rd yards, and it is esentially one 

 which is suitable for a genuine stayer. 



The Melbourne Cup Course Starting Barrier stands between the entrance 

 to the course proper and the Newmarket Barrier at the top of the straight. It 

 is a noble sight to see a field of between twenty and thirty of the best horses 

 in Australia wend their way from the enclosures, and, after the canter, trot 

 up the straight to the Cup start. Here, within easy view of all the stands, they 

 line up, and, after a few moments of breathless suspense, the barrier rises, and, 

 to a mighty roar from a hundred thousand throats, the field with their glittering 



