Toowoomba is home to Clifford Park Racecourse, one of Australia's leading provincial race tracks.
Clifford Park Racecourse was acquired as a 160-acre block in 1861 and the first meeting on it was conducted by the Darling Downs Jockey Club at the course then known as Drayton and Toowoomba Racecourse on 6 March 1862.
In 1882, Toowoomba Turf Club was formed and conducted its first meetings on 3 & 4 June that year. The first recorded Toowoomba Cup as run in 1919.
In 1992 the club made Australian racing history by staging the first race ever run under electric lights, the Fosters Toowoomba Cup, which was won by Waigani Drive.
On 4 September 1996, the club staged the first ever night race meeting in Australia.
Known as the 'Home of twilight racing' Clifford Park continues to race under lights every Saturday night and hosts 57 TAB race meeting per year.
The Toowoomba Turf Club continued to make Australian racing history when on the February 16 2009 members voted in favour of the replacement of the grass course proper with a synthetic racing surface called Cushion Track.
The completion of the project will take full effect on July 11 2009 when the annual Weetwood Handicap and Toowoomba Cup meeting will be held for the first time on the cushion track surface.
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