Friday June 27

After a click of the mouse, they're off and they're racing! The horses have been pounding the Towong Racecourse since 1871 but times have changed, the punter and visitor is more sophisticated and effective communication is more imperative leading up to any race meeting or touring success.

Towong Turf Club has joined the World Wide Web and already this is proving a real winner for punters, sponsors, historians and socialites who frequent this grand country racing venue. The main race meet is held on the long weekend in March, namely the Towong Cup however, the track is now making headlines and proving to be a grand tourist attraction 365 days of the year due to the development of an official website for the Towong Turf Club.

"The development of the web site enables the many stories of the track to be told and some of the legendary events are very significant to the Upper Murray. The website is going to be a real plus for the turf club and a valuable marketing tool." said Kaye McInnes, Secretary of Towong Turf Club.

The website provides an amazing insight of the many legends of the track. The Towong Cup has been won by the same horse in two consecutive years nine times but the hat trick has been achieved only once: Tom Burke won the cup in 1924, 1925 and 1926. Interestingly, another horse of the same name won it 1892, 32 years earlier.

The Towong Racecourse also boasts Victoria's oldest grandstand and with its mountain backdrop could easily be mistaken for a scene from the 1800s. So much so, the film-makers of Phar Lap decided to use the venue as a shooting location for their box office hit which was released in Australia in 1983. Phar Lap's double, Blazing Inferno, raced on course.

Legend has it, that even notorious Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor was a fan of the Towong Cup. Early last century he and his gang were reputed to have started a fracas on course, distracting the race committee and enabling them to steal the day's takings. Clearly not satisfied with their haul, Squizzy and his friends also robbed a publican at Corryong while making their escape. But they didn't get away scot-free, police apprehended them on their way to the Cudgewa railway station.

The Towong Racecourse is located 10km east of Corryong and an easy 1½-hour drive from Albury-Wodonga. Steeped in history, it's a nostalgic visit to the racing of yesteryear with Victoria's oldest grandstand, century-old elm trees and sweeping views to mountains the Man from Snowy River once called home.

Bookmark www.TowongTurfClub.com.au for further information