Racing in Australia has its headquarters at Sydney, under the
government of the Australian Jockey Club, the principal course being
at Ranwick; and at Melbourne, where the Victoria Jockey Club is
supreme, the principal course being at Flemington. In New Zealand
sport is carried on under the authority of delegates from the chief
racing clubs, who meet in conference. There is a Sydney Derby and a
Victoria Derby, and a notable event at Flemington is the Champion
Race, weight-for-age, for three-year-olds and upwards, which usually
attracts the best horses in training, as the fee at which a sire
stands depends in a great measure on his success in this contest. This
race is over a distance of 3 m., and to ensure a good pace there is a
regulation that the time in which it is run must not exceed 5 minutes
40 seconds, though the stewards have power to extend this in case the
ground should be made exceptionally heavy by rainy weather. The
Melbourne Cup is regarded as one of the most important races in the
state. This is a handicap, and in comparison with English races may
perhaps be ranked with the Cesarewitch. The birth of horses dates from
the 1st of August, which corresponds as nearly as possible to the 1st
of February in England, so that the Australian horses are practically
seven months younger than the English--a matter of some importance in
the case of those sent to run in England. There are few races which
close long before the date of decision, and practically all the good
animals run in handicaps. The five- and six-furlong races for other
than two-year-olds, so common in Great Britain, are extremely rare;
and it is asserted by colonial sportsmen that their horses stay better
than those bred in England, a circumstance which is largely attributed
to the fact that mares and foals have much more liberty and exercise
than is the case in the mother country.