Carrick has long been associated with horse racing. The Reverend Thomas Reibey and the Fields Family were instrumental in founding both a racing club and racecourse. Racing first begun on "The Moat", a property on the east edge of Carrick. Reibey gifted a racecourse somewhat south of "The Moat"; the course was originally 1 mile, 57 links long. The Carrick Racing Club was formed in 1848 and the course was well regarded; it was called "the best in Tasmania" by author Hugh Munro Hull in 1859. The Carrick Plate—a name now used for a race held in Launceston—was held at the new racecourse, without interruption, annually from 1849 to 1913; this made it the oldest race in Australia.