Horse racing in Ireland industry go from strength to strength. The Irish horse racing industry is today worth €1 billion per annum, employs over 14,000 people, and is a major player on the international scene. In Ireland, the Flat racing season runs from mid-March to mid-November, and comprises races started from stalls, run over 5 to 20 furlongs. These races are held at 23 racecourses, of which 3 run only Flat. National Hunt racing, or Jump racing, is run year-round in Ireland, but the main season takes place from November until the end of April, coinciding with the lull of the flat racing season.
Melbourne Racing Club the Caulfield Cup meeting in 1953. In 1963 the Melbourne Racing Club, which had been created from an amalgamation of the Williamstown Racing Club and the Victorian Racing and Trotting Association, was incorporated into the VATC. Following the merger, the newest of Melbourne's race tracks, Sandown Racecourse, was opened on 19 June 1965 in front of a crowd of over 52,000. The first Blue Diamond Stakes, a race for 2 year olds, was run at Caulfield in 1971 and won by Tolerance. The glass-fronted Rupert Clarke Grandstand, which replaced the main Caulfield grandstand of the 1920s, was opened in 1992.