15/07/2026
AVONDALE RACES - END OF AN ERA
We take a look at the last ever Avondale meeting with our picks for the seven race card run on a HEAVY 10
https://www.downunderpunter.com/midweeksundays?rq=Midweek
Avondale Racecourse, under the stewardship of the Avondale Jockey Club, is scheduled to conduct its final race meeting Wednesday July 15, marking the culmination of 136 years of thoroughbred racing out West. TAB New Zealand is set to have a say on the future of Auckland’s Avondale Racecourse with the announcement that the sports betting agency is now involved in a “joint evaluation” process.
Residing in Avondale on the edge of the Whau Creek, with paddocks and the back straight steeplechase jumps in close proximity provided a rural setting for many in the region, during which the local community and surrounding districts spent considerable time engaging in sports and attending regular meetings and the famous Avondale Markets at the venue. In the halcyon days of the 1970s, race days attracted thousands of attendees, with vehicles frequently traversing the roads in big numbers. The Avondale Cup and Concorde Sprint were massive meetings with many equine stars turning up to feature, with the roar of the crowd deafening. EVEN STEVENS won the 1961 Avondale Cup the year before claiming the Caulfield-Melbourne Cups double and BONECRUSHER claimed the 1985 Avondale Guineas.
Avondale Racecourse was established in the late 1880s on land owned by businessman Moss Davis, with the inaugural race meeting held on April 26, 1890. The racecourse was initially a rudimentary, egg-shaped track built on Moss Davis's farmland. Taking advantage of the recently opened railway station, the track spurred local commerce, encouraging businesses like grocers, butchers, and a barber to set up along Great North Road. After significant renovations, the course reopened in April 1902 with an extended track and better amenities. It quickly embraced technological innovations, hosting the country's first electrically-operated starting gates and a patent totalisator during the 1913 Avondale Cup.
In 1908, as a result of the Eden electorate going dry, the racecourse could no longer sell alcohol. Following on from that, the Avondale Hotel lost its licence in 1909 and closed in June 1910. I have heard stories though of jockeys secreting illicit stashes of beer and other alcohol under the stands in various nooks and crannies, until the liquor laws were relaxed in the 1960s. There were also instances of sly groggers operating on the course during race days, until they were caught.
The first successful powered plane flights at Avondale Racecourse took place in February 1913. Pioneering aviator Frederick E. Sandford and engineer William Stanley Miller tested their rebuilt Manurewa No. 1 biplane, successfully achieving short demonstration flights before large crowds. On 9 February 1913, Sandford successfully took a passenger, a Mr. Lester, for a flight that ultimately ended in a forced landing in a nearby New Lynn backyard.
During both World Wars, the grounds were repurposed for military use. In WWI, it was a training camp for the 3rd (Auckland) Mounted Rifles and briefly used as an airfield. The racecourse also stepped up to serve the local community, notably operating as a temporary hospital during the 1918 flu pandemic. In 1989, the AJC sold a large portion of its land for housing redevelopment. The racecourse has faced periodic challenges, including a brief closure in 2010 due to debt and dwindling crowds. It reopened in 2013 and eventually transitioned to being a premier training and trial track.
Following the unsuccessful implementation of night racing, the club experienced financial difficulties and a subsequent decline, rendering it unable to maintain the public stand, which subsequently deteriorated to the stage where it was not safe to use. That really signaled the beginning of the end despite a robust 1800m right-hand racing circuit that could handle the wet and still come up well. It is a sad indictment that we now see the end of such an historic racecourse which now only leaves Ellerslie as the lone Metro course in Auckland and Pukekohe in Sth Auckland.
Growing up next door was like living in the country, waking up to horses every day and giant huntsman spiders in the house and all. It will be sadly missed.
Thanks for the memories Avondale...
