Eagle Farm Racecourse

Since leaving university, I haven’t been back for a day at the races, as our college race days used to get so messy that you’d still be battling the remnants of a hangover a week later. But that was only ever the Ekka holiday race day in mid-​August, a day when the race grounds become flooded with university students. Everyone dresses in their Sunday best (frocks, heals and hats for ladies; suits and ties for men), starts drinking at around 8.30am and heads to the Eagle Farm Racecourse around 10 or 11am. There’s an entry fee to get in, around $ 10 – 15, and once there you’ll find drink tents and plenty of food stalls.
It’s a great day, particularly if you get a good group together and the weather is good, but a day at the races is also a complete drain on the wallet, as the costs of entry, food, drinks, and betting ads up. And if you’re going on the Ekka holiday, it’s only really fun if you’re drunk, as you’ll have to put up with packed crowds, other drunk people and long lines to get drinks. Once a year was and still is enough for me.

If you’re a group of young people and want to get out of the partying rut your in. Eagle Farm Racecourse is your answer. Suit up, have a champagne breakfast with some gorgeous lady friends and make your way over to watch some racing. There’s just something extra fun about having a few drinks on a Saturday afternoon at the races. We pretend we know what we’re talking about while deciding on what horse. But the day does get more exciting if your making bets, even if they amount to a grand total of $ 5.
Even if you can’t make it to a bigger weekend with one of the larger functions, just a group of mates at the races can be a cracker of a time. Student tickets are around $ 25 and beers are relatively cheap.

If you pick your day and get in early you can have a fantastic day at Eagle Farm for a fairly resonable outlay, depending on your penchant for gambling and drinking, of course.
Here’s what I did: it was my Dad’s birthday and as he’s been around race tracks all his life I thought it would be nice to go to Eagle Farm for the Stradbroke Handicap. We couldn’t afford to have a fancy restaurant sit down. I discovered the fantastic permanent white marquees near the winner’s circle are free to use — first in best dressed. We had free tix but you can choose a day when entry is free. Get there at 9am, bring gorgeous food in a couple of eskys, grab the best marquee and chairs, hang up some balloons and streamers, grab a drink and sit back and wait for the party to start. We had about 30 people and it was so much fun, the cousins, aunts and uncles are still talking about it. You can’t bring in grog and you must be sure to keep anyone under 18 with your party.

I didn’t think I was much into horse racing (apart from the Melbourne Cup) until I went to Eagle Farm Racecourse. Being there and dressing up made it all the more fun. There wasn’t any major race when we went but there still were a lot of people. It’s a nice social gathering. Eagle Farm racecourse is a big place so there’s plenty of room to sit either on the stands under the shade or closer to the action on the green.
There are several places where you can have a bite to eat. We had some burgers from a stall where all the betting was taking place. They were good, though a little pricey. There’s also plenty of alcohol for the social drinkers, which I’ll admit adds to the experience (this coming from someone who doesn’t drink much).
If you get bored or tired from watching the horses, I found a nice amble around the grounds was relaxing. If you happen to love it you can also become a member and be admitted to the special member’s lounge where you can socialise with the jockeys and have (I’m assuming as I didn’t go there) a great view of the races.