Barrier
advantages: Of least importance at 1200 and 1300
The Darwin Turf Club was formed with a fanfare
of trumpets in May 1955. The stage was all set then for the
running of the first Darwin Cup on Saturday October 20 1956.
Record post war stakemoney of $470 had been allocated by the
Club for the six races.
The 1990 bicentennial Darwin Cup was the
first $100,000 race staged in the Northern Territory, an amazing
turnaround for the Club virtually decimated by Cyclone Tracey
15 years before.
Since the turn of the Century the Darwin
Cup has become the biggest sporting event in the Northern
Territory with over 15,000 people attending every year As
one of only a few dirt tracks in operation on the provincial
circuit, the picturesque Fannie Bay Racecourse is the venue
for which sees several illustrious racing names vie for over
1.3 million dollars in prize money and trophies over the month
long event
