Racing has a rich and colourful history in Australia that can be traced back to the earliest days of colonisation by Europeans. Seven horses arrived with the first fleet in 1788, when horses played a vital role in everyday life - as a mode of transport, beasts of burden and as a form of recreation.

With horses so important in the colony, it did not take long for the competitive spirit to test the speed of horses and the skill of riders. Australia’s first organised horse race is recorded as taking place at Batmans Hill in New South Wales in 1838. Four years later, the Australian Jockey Club, was established.

The following year, 1843, saw Queensland’s first organised racing meeting held at Coopers Plains. However, it was not until 1863 that the Queensland Turf Club was formed and 1865 until the club hosted Queensland’s first official race meeting. The next year Forrester won the first Brisbane Cup and Queensland’s love affair with horses and racing had begun.

Queensland racing has a record of innovation, often placing it at the cutting edge of the development of the sport and industry of racing. In 1878, the world’s first totalisator was unveiled at Ipswich, west of Brisbane. In 1901, the year of federation, “Electric light racing” commenced at the Gabba in Brisbane’s east.

With the growth of the sport and the federation of the colonies into the Australian nation, came the need to introduce standardised rules for conducting racing. By 1912 the principal clubs that controlled racing in each state had agreed on the Australian Rules of Racing.

Excitement and drama have always been found on racecourses and sometimes the excitement has had nothing to do with racing. In 1928, Bert Hinkler landed his aircraft at Brisbane’s Eagle Farm Racecourse after his record-breaking flight from England, causing a sensation for the crowd of thousands and much celebration in the city. In 1941, to help the war effort, the Queensland Turf Club handed over Eagle Farm for use as a military training camp and base for thousands of allied service personnel. During this period, Albion Park became the focus of Queensland’s racing industry.

Racing is all about champions. Queensland has produced some truly great horses and the Queensland racing public has witnessed history being made at the track. In 1946, Bernborough, arguably Queensland’s greatest horse, won 15 successive events, including the Doomben Double. In 1961, a record crown farewelled the great Tulloch at the Brisbane Cup; and in 1973, Gunsynd, the Goondiwindi Grey immortalised by Tex Morton, was farewelled at Doomben.

Queensland led the way with the introduction of the racecourse totalisator, and in 1962 followed Victoria’s lead in legalising off-course betting through the Queensland TAB. The TAB was created in response to concerns in the early 1960s that illegal “SP” bookmaking had become a major problem. Apart from providing a legal form of off-course betting, the TAB provided a source of income for race clubs and revenue for government.

TAB Queensland has grown from humble beginnings to become a billion-dollar operation. Today computers are such a part of mainstream life that it seems incredible that it was not until 1977 that the TAB took its first automated telephone bet and 1980 that it introduced computerised betting. In 1999, the Queensland Government approved privatisation of the TAB. Today the organisation is at the forefront of information technology, with services including Internet betting.

The formation of the TAB began a process of liberating racing from the confines of racecourses and taking it to the public wherever they were. In 1986, Sky Channel began broadcasting races live to Queensland hotels and clubs. By 1991, racing had its own radio station, 4TAB, to serve the Queensland pubic with live race coverage and racing information. Three years later, telephone betting with bookmakers was legalised.

For much of its history, women were marginalised or excluded from the racing industry but by the late 1970s this had begun to change. Pam O’Neill successfully lobbied the Queensland Turf Club to license women as strappers and jockeys and in 1979 she won her licence, making her the first woman jockey in Australia. On her first day riding, Pam created a world record for any jockey, male or female, when she rode a treble at Southport. Today women are successful jockeys, stable hands, trainers and veterinarians and occupy key positions in racing industry administration and marketing.

Along with its proud record of leading industry development and producing champions, Queensland also shares the dubious distinction of being the venue for one of racing’s most notorious incidents. On 18 August 1984, an open-class sprinter, Bold Personality, was substituted for an ordinary country horse. The Fine Cotton ring-in was uncovered by stewards at the Queensland Turf Club and became another chapter in racing’s rich and colourful history.

With the growth of the sport and industry of racing came the need for more professionalism and the highest standards of industry integrity assurance.

The Racing Science Centre was created in 1989 in response to the “caffeine crisis”, when errors in drug testing caused a spate of false positive tests to be reported. The Racing Science Centre oversees testing of racing animals for illicit drugs, as well as working with racing administrators and trainers on animal welfare issues.

The Racing Development Fund, established in 1981, heralded an era of industry expansion. Money for the RDF came from a percentage of TAB turnover, fractions and unclaimed dividends and was used to upgrade racing facilities, fund race series and help the industry develop professionally.

By 1990, the Queensland Government believed the State’s five principal clubs were no longer able to provide the leadership and management the racing industry needed for it to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and competitive environment. The Government released its “Green Paper” for restructuring racing administration and, after lengthy industry consultation, the Queensland Principal Club, the forerunner to Queensland Racing, was created in 1992 to unify racing administration in the State.

The industry of racing had grown to become a major part of the Queensland and Australian economy but its actual contribution remained a mystery. A major study of racing’s economic impact was commissioned. The landmark 1992 ACIL report found Australian racing generated $2.4 billion in GDP. The contribution to Queensland’s Gross State Product exceeded $400 million.

The Queensland Principal Club initiated the industry’s first strategic plan, Form Guide to the Future, in 1998. Studies conducted by KPMG found Queensland racing (including the thoroughbred, harness and greyhound codes) contributed $700 million to the State economy and generated full-time, part-time and casual jobs for almost 24,000 Queenslanders. The State Government received almost $100 million in revenue from the industry.

With privatisation of the TAB, now known as UNiTAB, in 1999, the racing industry became master of its destiny. The new arrangements meant the industry’s revenue was directly tied to its ability to generate betting turnover. The industry would succeed or fail on its merits.

To address the new commercial realities, a skills-based board was appointed to head Queensland Racing in 2002. The board focussed on rationalising Queensland’s racing calendar to maximise betting turnover on Queensland races.

In 2003, Queensland Racing relocated to a modern, purpose-built facility at its Deagon training centre. The industry also began reaping the benefits of reform, with increased revenue and lower costs translating into big prizemoney increases. 2004 saw the first full year of reform, with the financial gains consolidated, record betting turnover and record attendance at Queensland’s feature race carnivals.

Racing is being marketing to a new generated of people through flagship events like the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. Regional racing series like the Matilda Highway series and the Reef ‘n’ Rainforest series are stimulating interest in racing throughout the State and linking racing with tourism, one of Queensland’s largest, fastest growing and most important industries.

Racing is building on its rich history to meet the challenges of the new millennium. Its dynamism means it will continue to be an integral part of Queensland social life and a significant contributor to the Queensland economy.