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
Arrowe Country Park edge of the park, from south to north, alongside a path. The brook also incorporates Arrowe Park Lake. The park has an area of and is open all year. Arrowe Country Park contains a Site of Biological Importance which covers Nicholson’s Plantation, Gorse Covert, the golf course, the hay meadow, Arrowe Brook, Arrowe lake and the trees near Arrowe Hall which are bat roosts. A variety of bird life can be found which include nuthatches, treecreepers and woodpeckers. The wildflower meadows attract butterflies such as small heath, skipper and the speckled wood. The ponds in the park are habitats for