Tattersall's Racing Club heads south to the Gold Coast

After taking meetings to the Sunshine Coast in recent years, the Tattersall's Racing Club will head south this weekend and race at Aquis Park.

The revered Tattersall's Racing Club’s history in the sport dates all the way back to 1865 and annually race four meetings a year.

The Tattersall's club work in a peculiar scenario of operating as a metropolitan level club, without having their own track.

The club have predominately raced at the Brisbane Racing Club’s Doomben and Eagle Farm over the journey but have in recent times taken meetings to either ends of the South East Queensland coast.

With members from the club based all over the Sunshine State, Tattersall's Racing Club President Paul Williams says taking a meeting to the Glitter Strip makes sense.

“We have tried to embrace the regional strategies to take our events to the Sunshine Coast and this week to the Gold Coast,” Williams said.

“It is a great attraction for our members, who are based all over Queensland, with activities for our members from Cairns to Rockhampton and the two Coast’s.

“We are great advocates for our members to help racing communities across the state.”

Tattersall's was set to take the corresponding meeting in the Queensland Summer Racing Carnival of 2021 to the Gold Coast before it was washed out.

A phantom meeting was held instead. 

“We have some great racing this weekend with the Recognition Stakes, among other good races,” Williams said.

The meeting will be headlined by two black-type events this Saturday – the Recognition Stakes and Tattersall's Classic – as well as the $105,000 2YO Plate, which is a key lead-in race to the Magic Millions early next year at the same track.

“We work closely with the team at the Gold Coast and our events team to make sure we have a great event and a great hospitality event for our own members,” Tattersall's Racing Club CEO Simon Proctor said.

Since the club’s inception all those decades ago, it has been intrinsically linked with horse racing, with the club staging its first race meeting in 1869 and now boasts four meetings per year, headlined by the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara during the Queensland winter.

“The long history of racing is integral to the way the club operates,” Williams said.

“From our perspective, racing will always be an integral part of the club.”

The club is based in Brisbane’s city, with their heritage-listed building fronting Edward St and Queen St. 

“You cannot walk into the club without seeing that racing is a part of our DNA,” Proctor said.

“It is everywhere.”