THE V.R.C. AND FLEMINGTON 133 



jackets jump off and thunder down the broad ribbon of green, round the 

 turn, and away along the river bank. It is the most heart-stirring event of the 

 whole racing year, and will probably ever continue to be so. The Derby start 

 takes place just above the Grand Stands and the Hill. 



That, then, is the Flat Race Course. But Flemington is the home also 

 of the Steeplechaser, and the Grand National, run for in the July of each year, 

 is, to many sporting men, even as grand a spectacle as the Cup. 



The fences are higher and stiffer than on any other steeplechase course 

 in Australia, and although they are not nearly so formidable as they were 

 fifty years ago, they are still a splendid test of the capabilities of the best of 

 jumping horses in the land. The course runs inside the racing track, although 

 at the big end of the egg it crosses to the outside and then comes back again 

 just before the entry to the straight running. There are six obstacles to be 

 surmounted in the straight — three posts and rails, a log, a very solid stone wall 

 and a paling. After leaving the straight a very good live hedge, -with plenty 

 of width on top, is taken, and then along the river side two posts and rails. 

 At the abattoirs the field turns to the left, and, crossing the race track, takes 

 a solid post and rail and a log, then two more fences of the same description, 

 and, lastly, a live hedge is crossed before entering the straight for the run 

 home. 



In the old days the leaps were, as we have noticed, higher, and they were 

 also what you might call "very rough and hairy." The top ends of the posts 

 were left sticking right up, and were "iron-clasped and iron-bound" like 

 Michael Scott's book of Glamourie. Now, in a more humane age, the posts 

 are sawn off level with the rails, the top rails themselves and the coping of 

 the walls, and the logs, too, are well padded, so that if horses strike they no 

 longer seriously injure their limbs, even if they hit very heavily. 



The sport of steeplechasing, fostered by hunting, is a very popular one 

 in Victoria, and in spite of the fact that races of that sort are decided almost 

 every week, very few horses are seriously injured, and the riders, as a rule, 

 escape with comparatively little hurt. 



At the far end of the property several training tracks are laid out, some 

 of which cross the straight six furlongs' racecourse at right angles. Here are 

 "the big sand" and the "cinders" and the "tan," while in the space enclosed 

 by the round course, on the flat, is a sand, and, just completed within the last 

 few weeks, a capital grass track. The course itself is occasionally thrown 

 open for galloping at special times, but, of course, some distance out from 

 the rails. 



There are usually somewhere approaching 400 horses located in 

 Flemington, Ascot Vale and the neighbourhood that make use daily of these 

 various training grounds. 



Such, then, is a brief description of the course, training grounds, stands 

 and lawns of famous Flemington, as they have been until this year of grace 

 1922. But, although the running tracks and steeplechase course will probably 

 remain unchanged for an indefinite number of years, the stands, lawns, 

 betting rings and all the enclosures and saddling paddocks are about to 

 undergo an entire regeneration. 



A plate showing the projected improvements — which will be commenced 

 very shortly — will give the best idea of what is to be done. The present 

 Grand Stand will remain as it is, as will the Members' and Official Stands. 

 The large brick stand farther up the lawn, which is being used to-day, will be 

 removed, and a magnificent three-decker, as seen in the plate, will take its 

 place. In front of this will be the new lawns, the saddling and mounting 

 enclosure, and, farther up the straight, the Bird-cage. 



