Moonee Ponds, Victoria Moonee Ponds, Victoria Moonee Ponds is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Moonee Valley. At the 2011 Census, Moonee Ponds had a population of 13,532. Moonee Ponds is home to Queens Park and the Moonee Valley Racecourse. Moonee Ponds was named by Donald Kennedy after his native valley in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The Clocktower Centre was originally constructed as the Essendon Mechanics' Institute, which was later purchased by the State of Victoria to become the Essendon Town Hall. Today it is primarily used as
Horse racing in Wales Horse racing in Wales Horse racing in Wales has a long tradition dating back to the 18th century. Wales has held flat racing, National Hunt and harness racing, and presently has three racecourses, at Chepstow, Bangor-on-Dee and Ffos Las. The Welsh National is held annually at Chepstow between Christmas and New Year and is the highlight of the Welsh racing calendar. Organised horse racing in Wales originated with the gentry and aristocracy and among the earliest organised racing were point-to-point meetings. By 1833 there were internationally recognised flat races at many locations around the country, including Cowbridge, Haverfordwest, Conwy, Aberystwyth,