EXPERT RACING TIPS: EAGLE FARM

SUMMARY

Like Doomben, which is located on the other side of Nudgee Road, Eagle Farm Racecourse is owned and run by the Brisbane Racing Club (BRC). The Heritage-listed venue has been hosting race meetings since its establishment in 1863. Together with Doomben, Eagle Farm takes centre stage during the Queensland Winter Carnival, which is headlined by the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) each June. Stradbroke season is Queensland’s time to shine, and Betfair’s form analysts bring you the inside track with their Eagle Farm tips throughout the carnival. The 1400m track record at Eagle Farm was established by Toledo, who won the 1998 Stradbroke Handicap in a time of 1:20.2.

KEY EVENTS

The Stradbroke Handicap is Queensland’s most famous race, dating all the way back to 1890. 

The race is named after Lord Stradbroke, whose relative Henry John Rous was the founder of racing’s weight-for-age scale. Interstate raiders have dominated the race in recent years, with Tofane (2021), Trekking (2019) and Santa Ana Lane (2018) adding their names to the roll call of Stradbroke champions. As well as the $1.5 million Stradbroke Handicap, Eagle Farm hosts four more Group 1s during the winter carnival: the Queensland Derby, Queensland Oaks, J.J. Atkins and the Tatts Tiara. For premium Eagle Farm tips on each meeting, the Betfair Hub is the place to go.    

TRACK PROFILE 

Due to its sand profile, Eagle Farm is one of the country’s fastest drying racetracks and can comfortably cope with large amounts of rainfall in the lead-up to race meetings. In fine weather the track can be very firm underfoot, with some horses struggling to let down on the surface. 

The turf track is 28m wide, with a circumference of 2,027m. The long home straight of 434m gives horses a chance to run down the leaders, so jockeys riding for luck can often be seen charging home from the back of the pack. Whether it’s on-pace runners or late swoopers, Betfair’s tipsters study the form and bring you their Eagle Farm best bets today.     

HISTORY

Racing at Eagle Farm was conducted by the Queensland Turf Club from 1863 until 2009, when it merged with the neighbouring Brisbane Turf Club to form the BRC. The Tattersalls Racing Club shares Eagle Farm with the BRC and holds one feature meeting each year in June as part of the winter carnival. The curtain came down on one of the greatest racing careers of all time at Eagle Farm in 1961, when Tulloch – trained by TJ Smith – won both the PJ O’Shea Stakes (now known as The Q22) and the Brisbane Cup. As part of the $1.2 billion development upgrade to the facilities at Eagle Farm and Doomben racecourses, a stabling precinct was constructed in the centre of the course which currently houses up to 600 horses. Eagle Farm trainers include Queensland’s leading trainer, Tony Gollan.