RACETRACKS OF THE WORLD – AUSTRALIA: NSW (SYDNEY METROPOLITAN) – MENANGLE

Having categorised the racetracks of New South Wales into two main sections : Metropolitan Sydney and Country (regional) New South Wales, this particular review looks at the current Sydney metropolitan track, TABCorp Park Menangle.

Menangle Park is a suburb located fifty six kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown, largely a rural area which is part of the Macarthur region and situated 7.0 kilometres from Campbelltown CBD.

The site of TABCorp Park, Menangle is in fact the fourth racecourse located on this particular property. The first track from the 1860’s when racing commenced, the property was owned by James Fitzpatrick who purchased the land in 1855 from the estate of William Howe. Howe had been granted 3,000 acres in 1818 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie which he had increased to 7,000 acres by 1820. Racing at Menangle Park racecourse was part of the Campbelltown/Liverpool thoroughbred circuit.

This circuit pre 1900 included as well as the Collingwood and Woodlands course near Liverpool, Warwick Farm and Chipping Norton courses, Studley Park course at Narellan and the Campbelltown course.

In 1912 a proprietary company owned by Joynton Smith, later knighted being  (owner of Victoria Park, Sydney and other regional racecourses purchased a total of 591 acres of Fitzpatrick river land on which a mile and quarter track, 80 feet at its narrowest and 120 feet wide at its widest points was built. The home straight was three furlongs in length with the course watered from the nearby Nepean River. One hundred and twenty stalls plus three buildings including two grandstands (Paddock and Leger Stands) were erected. This became the second Menangle Park.

Designed by local architect Alfred Payten (member of NSW Trotting Club from 1905; later starter at Harold Park for many years), Menangle Park lies on the river flats between the railway station and the Nepean River. With its establishment in 1914, the suburb name became synonymous with the racecourse, being its major landmark and only a few years later the name was officially changed to Menangle Park.

By the western side of the current railway station are the remains of the Menangle Racecourse Junction. This comprised three sidings providing a Passenger Platform and a Horse Loading Platform. The platforms can still be seen and are considerably longer than the current station platform.

The ten furlong left handed grass track at Menangle Park Racecourse opened on 6 August 1914 with a gallops meeting. The first races for Standardbreds were held over the next year or two. Within this period, the racecourse was taken over by the Army to train troopers in the Australian Light Horse who fought in the Middle East during World War One. German nationals and German/Australians residing in NSW prior to the War were interned in a camp at Menangle Park. Shortly after opening it was discovered that the Menangle Park racecourse was actually inside the forty mile limit under the 1906 Racing Act – no new courses to be built within a forty mile radius of Sydney. A special Act was passed by the NSW Government to correct this anomaly declaring that Menangle Park racecourse was outside the limit.

After the war ended, the first six race trotting meeting was held on 27 September 1920; thereafter regular trotting meetings were held together with trotting races being included at thoroughbred meetings. In 1920, land to the east of the station was subdivided into one hectare (2.5 acre) lots to provide land for returned World War I servicemen. While there was a push to open the area up for further subdivision, this was resisted by the state government because of concerns about the effects such development would have on the water quality of the Nepean.

The depression was the major cause of the final trotting meeting at the second Menangle Park being held on 11 December 1936 while the track was closed completely due to the commencement of World War Two and the ban on proprietary racing for thoroughbreds on 18 November 1941. The Army again utilised the racecourse during the Second World War accommodating and training troops of the 45th Battalion.

The NSWTC purchased the disused racetrack in 1952 commencing with several gymkhana meets and a rebuild with two of the grandstands still in useable order. The official reopening took place on 26 September 1953 by then Governor General Sir William McKell** in front of a crowd of 5,247. This being the third Menangle Park course.

** ironically, McKell was a Minister and later Premier of NSW State Government responsible for banning and closing all NSW proprietary racecourses in 1939, with effect from 1942.

The rebuilt 832 yards track was used on Saturday afternoons for the first two years before changing to midweek day meetings from 29 June 1955 (twenty second meeting of NSWTC; crowd of 4,152; tote turnover of £26,633, over double opening day in 1953). The track went under lights from 1964 (likewise Bankstown, Fairfield, Penrith at similar time) when utilised as the NSWTC out of town course (city course was Harold Park).

In 1996, much of the Paceway activity was relocated to the newly upgraded Harold Park with the Menangle Park track mostly used for training with its last meeting being held on 30 June 2002. Meetings of the NSWHRC at Menangle Park were transferred to and raced at Harold Park, plus Wagga Wagga, Maitland and other venues.

Between 2004 and 2007 the Paceway received a major upgrade with the objective of concentrating all major racing events at Menangle Park after the closing of Harold Park following its 17 December 2010 meeting. The track design for the 1400m circuit was supervised and built under the direction of Daniel Coon, son of American Hall of Fame inductee Charles E. Coon. This being the fourth track.

The first meeting at the newly rebuilt 1400m TABCorp Park Menangle track was held as a day meeting on Tuesday 24 June 2008. The official opening meeting on Sunday 29 June 2008 included seven Group One races. Day meetings only continued to be held while Harold Park remained as the Sydney night venue until its closure. The first night meeting at the new Menangle Park track under lights was held on Thursday 1 April 2010 followed by a number of select night meetings prior to taking over completely on Friday 24 December 2010, a week after Harold Parks’s closure.

Club Menangle (NSWTC) is the most prestigious and longest running harness racing club in Australia, founded in 1902 with its first race meeting conducted in 1906 (refer earlier articles on Harold Park in its various guises). After moving from Harold Park the club invested over $75 million in facilities at Menangle including the new Menangle Country Club. The club holds over one hundred and thirty meetings each year making Club Menangle Australia’s premier harness racing and events destination. The complex boasts some of the largest and most versatile entertainment spaces in Sydney’s southwest making its mark on the Australian harness racing scene.

Racing is normally conducted on Saturday nights and Tuesday afternoon’s year round. The 1400m track has a 350m straight with 110m radius turns on a crushed granite surface. Racing is conducted in an anti-clockwise direction over distances of 1609m (1 mile), 2300m, 2400m and 3009m. Menangle does not feature a sprint lane with field maximums of ten (mobile)/twelve (stand), both with front lines of ten. Major annual events include the Miracle Mile, Chariots of Fire, Len Smith and Ladyship Miles.

Current track records include My Field Marshal’s fastest ever mile in Australasia :

Pacers –

Trotters –

On course facilities at Menangle Park include –

1. Smoken Up Stables and Barns – state of the art stables complex with stalls for up to 108 horses including child friendly viewing platforms open to the public at all race meetings. Depending on availability, overnight accommodation for horses including lock up barns and day yards are offered

1. Garrards Horse & Hound – family owned and operated company since 1985 whose head office is located at Brendale on the north side of Brisbane having seventeen branches located across Australia and New Zealand including at Club Menangle
2. Training Track -state of the art training facilities available for casual use
3. Menangle Park Training Centre – world class training facility located on site
4. Aquagait Equine Centre – located on site at the Menangle Park Training Centre. The facilities are ultra-modern with world class equipment able to condition horses with precision – Pre Training; Cross Training; Injury Rehab; Laser Therapy available
5. Bubba Gump Pest Control – family owned company servicing the greater Sydney area, regional NSW and other surrounding areas providing quality pest control solutions

Dining/Viewing Options :

a)      Macarthur Pavilion: open for Saturday night and midweek race meetings. The bar is positioned in front of the winning post featuring a giant video screen with an abundance of television screens

b)      Winning Post Café : open for Saturday night and midweek race meetings. Situated directly below the Pavilion Sports Bar offering a wide variety of light meals

c)      Private Suites : two private suites located on Level 2 of the Rex Horne Stand offering unobstructed views of the home straight and winning post. Each suite features private bar, betting facilities and grandstand seating. Suites are capable of catering for up to fifty people banquet style and sixty people cocktail style. Subject to availability, these spaces can be combined to increase the maximum overall capacity to two hundred and twenty guests

d)      Parade Terrace : covered alfresco function space offering exclusive views of the parade ring with its own private grandstand overlooking the winning post. The function space provides a private bar, betting facilities and toilets for guests. Suitable for cocktail events of up to eighty guests

e)      Seppelt Marquee : one of two permanent marquees providing a panoramic glass frontage leading on to an exclusive viewing deck overlooking the home straight. Fitted with festoon lighting throughout the Taniya Harris Marquee is suitable for one hundred and twenty guests seated and up to one hundred and eighty guests for cocktail style events

f)       Lawn Marquee : the larger of two permanent trackside marquees provides glass frontage leading out to an exclusive viewing deck and private lawn overlooking the home straight. With a movable wall adjusting the capacity from as low as fifty up to three hundred and fifty guests, it includes multiple bars

g)      Chairman’s Lounge : premier function room at Menangle Park for race day hospitality offering unobstructed views of the entire racetrack. Situated on level two of the Rex Horne Stand, guests access exclusive bar and betting facilities as well as private grandstand seating.  The lounge can seat up to one hundred and twenty guests banquet style or up to one hundred and fifty guests for cocktail catering. Subject to availability, space can be expanded to incorporate neighbouring rooms seating up to two hundred and twenty guests

a)      Miracle Mile Restaurant : located on Level one of the Rex Horne Stand, The Miracle Mile Restaurant is a popular race night hospitality option. The two-tiered restaurant can seat up to three hundred and eighty patrons providing exclusive bar, betting facilities, toilets and grandstand seating

The Interdominon Pacing Championships have been held at Menangle in 2010 (Blacks A Fake’s fourth win in five seasons 2006 – 2010; second in 2009 and 2011); Im Themightyquinn collected his third consecutive title in 2013 while Beautide won consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015. The first two and final heats (twentieth, on ID Pacers Grand Final Day) of the 2015 World Drivers Championships won by New Zealander Dexter Dunn were held at TABCorp Park, Menangle.

As at mid-March 2022 the new, larger Menangle track has become the speed capital of Australasian harness racing. Only two of the sub 1:50 pacing miles recorded in Australasia have been registered at tracks other than Menangle (108) and thirteen of the eighteen 1:54.0 or better trotter’s times have been recorded at Menangle since its opening.

Menangle Country Club – purchased by Club Menangle in 2016, the new registered club opened its doors in early February 2020 having not traded since 2016. In June 2019 the Menangle Country Club began an $11 million redevelopment of the building and its grounds. This venue was famous for its weekend long lunches, live music and country charm; all aspects that have been maintained forming the foundation of the new venue’s success. The Country Club boasts state of the art facilities appealing to the entire family while maintaining the country charm of the heritage listed site.

The main addition to the new club is a 250 seat function room with private bridal suite purpose built for weddings. The state of the art room is adaptable in sizing with moveable walls and versatile enough to cater for any style of event. Adjoining the function room are private ceremony gardens and a pre-dinner cocktail area making it a complete function venue.

Next Article: Canadian Harness Racing Tracks

Peter Craig.

23 March 2022

Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com

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