Townsville Tips, Race News, Betting and More

Also known as Cluden Racecourse, Townsville Racecourse is in North Queensland, approximately 1,400km North of Brisbane. It is known as one of Australia's top provincial circuits and features perfect garden surroundings. The track itself is heritage-listed and was designed by Walter Howard Tunbridge.

The course itself has a circumference of 1,680m and the home straight is slated at 310m. This straight is quite friendly to runners as the final 100m of it is on a decline. The Townsville Turf Club operates out of the track and believes that the Townsville Cup is the biggest social event in Townsville each year.

If you’re thinking about betting on races at the track after you’ve found your Townsville racing tips, you’ll be pleased to know just how many options are available to you. There are actually so many options that it can be difficult to know where you start. No need to worry though as we have two betting sites in particular that we think you’ll like.

We understand that some people just don’t have the time (or skills) to develop their own betting strategy when it comes to Townsville races. This is where the team at OnlyRacing steps in because you’ll find our horse racing tips feature a betting strategy as well, which centres around the ideal bet types.

While there are many different bet types available in horse racing, we’ve chosen a couple to feature on this page as we think they are among the most popular. Check them out here:

Each-Way

If you’re sitting on the fence about a runner, then an Each-Way bet is a good option. Here, you are essentially placing two bets of equal amounts on the same runner, one to Win and another to Place.

Many Townsville racing tips for today include this bet type because it is a good way to cover your options. If the runner you pick wins then your Each-Way bet is successful and you get paid out for the Win and the Place. If the runner finishes top three, you get paid out for the Place bet.

Daily Double

You’ll find the Daily Double with more exotic tips, but it is still fairly simple to understand and it can extend the suspense as you are focusing on not one but two races. To be successful with the Daily Double, you are required to pick the winner of back-to-back races.

Many like to play around with the Daily Double in their Townsville racing tips because of the payout potential, especially if you have included a roughie or two in your bet. To increase your chances of success, you can add more than two runners to your bet.

Quadrella 

Another bet type that is worthy of a look is the Quadrella (also known as a Quaddie). It is probably one of the most difficult bet types to land, but if you can, a massive payout is likely. With a Quaddie, you have to pick the winner of four consecutive races on the card.

As the payout can be huge, you’ll see many try their hand with a Quaddie in their Townsville race tips. Like with the Daily Double, you can add more than four runners to your bet to increase the chances of success. However, the more runners you add, the lower the potential payout will be.

The first race meeting was held at Townville Racecourse in 1866 and early meetings were held at several different locations. It wasn’t until 1874 when the government at the time granted the racing club a reserve for a more permanent racecourse and this was around the same time that the club’s name changed to the Townsville Turf Club.

A train line popped up in the 1880s as a new site for racing was selected, which was just a couple of minutes' walk from Cluden Train Station. This move of location closer to the train station ensured its success and there were many improvements to the racecourse, including a new grandstand, stewards and press stand.

Over the years, a few cyclones have caused significant damage to the racecourse and its surroundings, including Cyclone Sigma in 1896, Cyclone Leonta in 1903 and Cyclone Althea in 1972. Each time, however, Townsville Racecourse bounced back and improved on its offering to patrons.

In Townsville, many race meetings take place throughout the year. There is one day in particular that truly stands out from the rest and brings in major crowds. That race is the:

• Townsville Cup

The race distance is important to look into at Townsville Racecourse as it provides vital information like where the runners start the race from and how important barriers are likely to be in the race. We’ve gone through and found some of the most common distances raced at Townsville and explain more about them here:

For more details about the exact layout of the track at Townsville, you can check out the track map here:

There are a couple of ways you can get in touch with Townsville Racecourse if you need to. The main details can be found here:

There are a few ways for you to get to Townsville Racecourse, however, the easiest way is likely going to be by car. Public transport isn’t as readily available in the area and you would likely have to walk a fair distance anyway. 

If you are heading to the track via car, you can choose to drive yourself as there is parking nearby, or you can catch a taxi or rideshare service that can easily get you to and from the venue on race day.