sundaytruth

Section of the crowd at Albion Park racetrack, Brisbane, November 1932

from State Library of Queensland

• Vesna Verencevic said:

  Highlights of Moments in Queensland Racing History! Mid 1880's Track established "by the creek" - Albion Park - with a sand surface. It was purchased by Melbourne businessman, John Wren in 1910, and unregistered race meetings were conducted. In 1924 the Brisbane Amateur Turf Club was formed and purchased Albion Park from Mr. Wren for 300,000 pounds ($600,000). Source: www.teamthoroughbreds.com.au/articles/highlights-of-momen...

• Vesna Verencevic said:

  Remembering The Creek, Brisbane’s quirky sand racetrack The Creek, Brisbane’s now-defunct Albion Park racecourse, holds special memories for many horse-racing enthusiasts of a certain age. Known as “The Creek” because it was bounded by Breakfast Creek which runs into the nearby Brisbane River, it was an all-weather sand track that provided an alternative to the more upmarket grass tracks of Eagle Farm and Doomben. In hindsight, it could be argued that it wasn’t a smart decision to locate a racetrack in such a flood-prone position. Many times since the track was established about 1854, officials had to clean up after such an event. In a measure of the benefits of a sand track, racing re-started two weeks after the 1974 flood receded. It took workers several days to remove the silt and debris. Gallopers such as Recovery, St Aubin, Auction, Lucky Ring, and Red Seas mostly won at Albion Park and were referred to as champion “Creekers”. The Creek was never going to survive long-term as horse racing expanded. It was the stuff of another era, filled with characters and situations that will be hard for some to comprehend. As well, harness racing events were included on the program on occasions and those who had standardbred horses back then could not have imagined that one day the location would become a world-class venue for that racing code. The site is now headquarters to both harness racing and greyhounds and is still known as The Creek, but many would know little of the history behind that title. Just a short walk from The Creek is the iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel which has long held a reputation as one of Brisbane’s best steakhouses and gathering places. Source: nunn.com.au/the-creek/

• Vesna Verencevic said:

  Interesting to see almost all spectators are male, and almost all, except just a few, wearing hats.