Warwick Farm Raceway, former motor racing circuit in Warwick Farm, Sydney, Australia
Warwick Farm Raceway was a motor racing circuit in Sydney that opened in 1960 on the grounds of a former horse racing track. The track measured about 3.6 kilometers long with 14 corners and crossed the existing horse racing course twice, requiring special crossings to be built for racing cars to pass through.
William Forrester bought the Warwick Park estate in 1882 and renamed it Warwick Farm to match his initials; in 1889 he and Edwin Oatley formed the Warwick Farm Racing Club. A motor racing circuit opened within the horse racing grounds in December 1960, and the Australian Grand Prix ran there in 1963, 1967, 1970 and 1971. The last major race was the final round of the 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship on 15 July, won by Peter Brock; the circuit closed that August after CAMS required armco fencing the Australian Jockey Club would not fund.
The Hordern Trophy race at Warwick Farm was named for Sir Samuel Hordern, the businessman the Australian Jockey Club sent to Britain to study how Aintree combined car and horse racing. Motor racing meetings required two temporary crossings laid over the horse track, the Western and Northern, removed once racing finished.
The circuit lay inside the racecourse at Warwick Farm, in Sydney's south-west, a short walk from Warwick Farm railway station; a free bus ran between station and course on race days. A 1.63 km branch line off the Main South line once carried race-day specials to the entrance, closing in August 1990.
When a motor racing meeting was held, two removable crossings were laid over the horse track: the Western Crossing between turns two and three, and the Northern Crossing between turns eight and nine. They were taken up once racing finished, so the same ground served horses and cars.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,165 contributors worldwide.