The First Meetings and a Growing Crowd
The first recorded race meeting on the Darling Downs was held in 1848, staged by the Drayton Racing Club. These early events were modest, but they attracted strong public interest, with competitors and spectators travelling significant distances to attend.
As Toowoomba grew, racing followed. On 6 March 1862, the first official meeting was held on the newly secured course closer to town, then known as the Drayton and Toowoomba Racecourse. This meeting marked the beginning of continuous racing on the site that would later become Clifford Park.
Within a decade, race meetings were firmly established as major social occasions on the Downs, with Christmas and mid-year carnivals drawing large fields and growing crowds.
Feautre Races Take Hold
By the late 19th century, Clifford Park had moved beyond informal competition into a structured racing calendar that mirrored developments across Queensland.
Races that would become local institutions were introduced, including:
- the Weetwood Handicap,
- the Toowoomba Cup,
- and the Clifford Plate.
These events helped lift the profile of racing on the Downs, attracting horses capable of competing successfully beyond the region and strengthening links with metropolitan racing in Brisbane.
Success at Clifford Park increasingly became a recognised pathway within Queensland racing, a place where horses, trainers and jockeys could prove themselves before stepping onto bigger stages.
Horses, Owners and Early Success
The strength of Downs racing was reflected not only in crowds, but in results.
Local owners and breeders began producing horses that could win at the highest level. One of the most notable was Togo, owned by James Taylor, who claimed victory in the AJC Doncaster Handicap at Randwick in 1908 and won the Queensland Derby, placing Darling Downs racing firmly in the national spotlight.
These achievements reinforced Clifford Park’s reputation as a serious racing venue, not just a regional meeting place.
Setting the Standard for Provincial Racing
By the early 20th century, Clifford Park had established itself as a key part of Queensland’s racing landscape. Regular meetings, competitive fields and strong community support ensured its place alongside the state’s leading provincial tracks.
That foundation would later support even greater milestones, including pioneering night racing, but the course’s early success was built on racing that mattered, results that resonated, and a region deeply invested in the sport.
From its earliest meetings to its first great winners, Clifford Park helped shape the story of Queensland racing, one race at a time.