The Gold Coast Racecourse is located just two kilometres from the heart of Surfers Paradise and is situated amongst the excitement of one of Australia’s greatest holiday destinations. The Gold Coast Racecourse is Australia’s busiest racecourse, with race meets every Saturday and mid-week racing throughout most of the year.

Racing first began at the track on May 15, 1946 when the club was known as the Southport and District Amateur Race Club. The first races were run on a sand track.

By January 1971, the Gold Coast Racecourse was conducting races every Saturday. In August of 1971, the Club launched the Newmarket-Gold Coast Club three day carnival that took place on a quality grass track. The race was first sponsored by Carlton and United Breweries and was worth only $2,000. In 1974 the Gold Coast Racecourse became home to the Prime Minister’s Cup, which was then worth the highest prize money for any provincial race in Australia at $30,000. The Prime Minister’s Cup became a stand-alone Saturday race meet in 2002 and is now worth over $1 million in prize money.

The Gold Coast Racecourse has a circumference of 1,885 metre and a long final straight distance of 400 metres.

Now operated by the Gold Coast Turf Club, the Gold Coast Racecourse is home to a number of big races each year. Possibly the most coveted is the Magic Millions Carnival, which is held annually in January and features the main Magic Millions Classic as the main event. The Magic Millions Classic is open to two-year-olds sold in the Magic Millions sales and is worth $2 million.

The Gold Coast Racecourse features a variety of function facilities that are open seven days a week. On top of that, the Racecourse is also home to over a dozen different restaurants, bistro, bars and cafes, meaning that even those with less of an interest in horse racing will find it hard to stay away from the track.