Flemington Racecourse The first Melbourne Cup was run in 1861. In 1871 the Victoria Racing Club Act was passed, giving the VRC legal control over Flemington Racecourse. The racecourse is shaped not unlike a pear, and boasts a six-furlong (1,200 m) straight known as 'the Straight Six.' The track has a circumference of and a final straight of for race distances over . Races are run in an anti-clockwise direction. The course has a crowd capacity of over 120,000 and contains three grandstands. The biggest ever attendance was on Victoria Derby Day in 2006 when 129,069 people saw Efficient win the Victoria
Ellis Park Race Course Ellis Park and the association that would reopen the track. Under this agreement, horsemen would get a larger share of wagering revenues. On March 9, 2009, Geary notified the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission that he will have a reduced racing schedule that year and planned to close the track the following year, citing a lack of purse money compared to other courses and a lack of horses. However, Ellis Park remained open for the 2010 season with the opening race occurring on July 10, 2010. In 2012, Geary sold a 30 percent stake in Ellis Park to the Saratoga Casino