Darwin Turf Club

The Darwin Turf Club is home to the annual Darwin Cup, a feature of the Northern Territory racing carnival.

The first Darwin race meeting, held in 1873, was an Easter scratch meeting with 16 entries from the 11 horses taking part in a six race program. The Northern Territory Race Club was formed in 1874, but its first official race meeting was not held until Melbourne Cup Day on the following year. By 1888 the annual Palmerston Cup meeting was attracting big crowds. The Darwin Turf Club was formed in 1955 with 64 members who set about a year’s hard work of restoring the Fannie Bay circuit that had been unused since 1940.

The first official meet was held in 1956. The Darwin Turf Club complex has seen many changes over the years, climaxing with the construction of The Grandstand and Winners Circle venues that were completed in time for the 1995 Darwin Cup Carnival.

The club is now a favourite spot among locals, who love to enjoy a flutter and is located at Fannie Bay Racecourse, only 7 minutes travel from Darwin city. The racecourse has a circumference of 1780 metres and unique to its southern counterparts it has an oil mixed sand track, rather than a traditional turf overlay.