Established in 1883, the Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC)has enjoyed a rich and vibrant history of thoroughbred horseracing at its unique amphitheatre racecourse nestled in the heart of Moonee Ponds. Renowned for the W.S. Cox Plate, Australasia’s Weight-for-Age Championship, The Valley is also Australia’s leading night racing venue.

The MVRC is embarking on a historic transformation of the racecourse precinct and recently launched its hospitality business, Dean and McPherson.

Moonee Valley Racing Club is committed to maintaining high standards of excellence in racing and customer service. Each race meeting offers premium racing, entertainment and enjoyment throughout the year and during the Spring Racing Carnival. Our aim is to engage and excite our members and visitors about day and night racing at The Valley and through our premium Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival.

As we bid farewell to The Valley as we know it, we celebrate its legacy - an iconic stage where champions were made, moments were immortalised, and history was written. This is not the end, but a turning point - a tribute to the past and a prelude to a new era of legendary.

Looking to the future, the MVRC has embarked on a historic transformation of the Moonee Valley Racecourse, with a new track alignment and facilities. A return to racing at the new track is scheduled for the 2017/28 season.

The Moonee Valley Racing Club was established in 1883 when William Samuel Cox purchased a farm belonging to John F Feehan for the purpose of establishing a racetrack. From those early days, it proved to be a popular place to bet, socialise and enjoy the thrill of horse racing. Hundreds of Melburnians coming from across the city would flood the racecourse in their Sunday best to enjoy high-energy race days. The Valley’s first meeting on 15 September 1883 featured nine horses that faced Mr Doherty, the starter for the Maiden Plate. The first race resulted in a dead heat between Eveline and Pyrette. From that day on, racing at The Valley was conducted strictly ‘en regle’, with excellent accommodation for the public and healthy prizemoney for the competitors.

Cox passed on a racing dynasty after he died in 1895. Cox’s son Archie was employed as Moonee Valley’s secretary and stipendiary steward in 1905. His brother-in-law, Arthur Vaughan Hiskens took the reins to become one of Victoria’s greatest racing administrators. Another of Sam’s sons, W.S. Junior, was a leading amateur jumps jockey. His association with Redleap, on whom he won the VRC Grand National Hurdle and Steeplechase double in 1892, is legendary.

The first W.S. Cox Plate was run at Moonee Valley Racecourse in 1922, offering a purse of 1,000 pounds – a fortune in those days. A weight-for-age race over 2,040 metres, it was named in honour of the club’s founder, and its first winner was an imported stallion named Violencello.

Strategically placed on the race calendar between the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, the W.S. Cox Plate has become a highly prestigious race and is regarded as the best weight-for-age race in Australasia – not to mention one of the most exciting race days in the world.

Among the champion horses that have their names etched on the W.S. Cox Plate Wall of Champions are Phar Lap, Sunline, Kingston Town, Better Loosen Up, Might and Power, Bonecrusher, Makybe Diva, Romantic Warrior, Via Sistina, and Winx, the only four-time Cox Plate champion.

Renowned for its innovation over its 140+ year history, the racecourse has undergone some major changes, with an expansion of the racecourse facilities in the 1960s and the addition of harness racing in the 1970s until 2010. In 1998, The Valley became Australia’s first metropolitan venue to flick the switch on thoroughbred night racing, and in 2010, The Valley introduced the 55 Second Challenge, a unique race series over the blistering distance of 955 metres.

Today, The Valley is home to four Group 1 races, including the W.S. Cox Plate, Manikato Stakes, A.J. Moir Stakes and William Reid Stakes.