Harness racing also goes by the name trotting, and it’s one of the most popular spectator sports all over Australia. One of the best racing racecourse in Australia is East Perth’s Gloucester Park. Gloucester Park is located just opposite the Western Australian Cricket Grounds, at Nelson Crescent in Eastern Perth. If you are to take the CAT bus, you can take the stop on Nelson Crescent, and from there, you just need to take a short walk to the main gate.
Each season, more than 225,000 attend and visit the venue to experience the thrill and excitement of harness racing at Gloucester Park. The said racecourse holds meetings midweek and every Saturday all year round, both featuring standing and mobile starts. The harness racing season starts on the 1st of September until the 31st of August, except Easter Friday.
Midweek pacing on Gloucester Park is held during Monday afternoons, Tuesday evenings and Saturday evenings. There are a total of eight races held on Saturday nights and ten race meetings every weekday. Gloucester Park also holds the biggest New Year’s party in Perth where fireworks can be witnessed, as well as live bands with over 20,000 people joining the party!
Gloucester Racecourse features facilities for all types of spectators, be it a family, couples or group of friends. It houses several restaurants, a bar and even a child care center where children can play while the parents enjoy the race and other facilities in the park. Other activities that you can do in Gloucester Park include animal viewing, gambling, horse riding, and sports viewing. Aside from restaurants, bars and child care center, it also offers cafes, a spacious car park, catering, child activities, coach parking, facilities for holding conferences and conventions, first aid equipment, picnic area, public telephone, public toilets, shaded area, sheltered area and a viewing platform.
The Gloucester Racecourse has been the home of harness racing in Western Australia for around 74 years now and has been at the same time considered as Australia’s premier harness racing course venue.