{{Short description|Park in Adelaide, South Australia}} {{Redirect-distinguish|Victoria Park Racecourse|Victoria Park Racecourse, Sydney}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}} {{coord|-34.933|138.620|type:landmark_region:AU_scale:50000|display=title|format=dms}}
'''Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi''', also known as '''Park 16''', is a park located in the Southeastern Park Lands of the South Australian capital of Adelaide.<ref>[http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/adccwr/publications/policies_strategies/park_lands_signage_plan.pdfAdelaide Parklands Signage Plan]. Retrieved 15 May 2007. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909211039/http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/adccwr/publications/policies_strategies/park_lands_signage_plan.pdf |date=9 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190427083613/https://adelaideparklands.com.au/parks-and-squares/victoria-park-pakapakanthi/ Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16)], adelaideparklands.com.au</ref> It is bordered by Fullarton Road, Greenhill Road, East Terrace and Wakefield Road. Before 1897 it was known as the '''Old Adelaide Racecourse'''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54505868 |title=The Old Adelaide Racecourse |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=LXII |issue=15,828 |location=South Australia |date=5 August 1897 |access-date=16 August 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
It has hosted several major events in recent years, the most prominent of which were the Formula 1 from 1985 to 1995, and from 1999 the Adelaide 500. This race was cancelled in 2020 for the 2021 season during the COVID pandemic, but returned in December 2022. Victoria Park is also the host of three Pedal Prix races through the year, run by the AHPVSS (Australian Human Powered Vehicle Super Series).
thumb|right|500px|Horse racing track along the eastern edge of Victoria Park, adjacent Fullarton Road thumb|right|500px|The grandstand of the former Victoria Park Racecourse has been retained The park's most prominent feature was the Victoria Park Racecourse, the home course of the Adelaide Racing Club prior to its amalgamation with the South Australian Jockey Club; the main track was 2,360 metres long, with the longest home-straight of any horse racing track in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | access-date =1 August 2006 | url =http://www.progroupracing.com.au/Racetracks/Victoria_Park.htm | title =Victoria Park Racecourse | publisher =Pro-Group Racing }}</ref>
==Early history== In the early days of Adelaide, races were held in this area, the East Park Lands, opposite the Britannia Hotel,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207122185 |title=The Adelaide Races |newspaper=The Adelaide Times |volume=VII |issue=1058 |location=South Australia |date=29 December 1853 |access-date=28 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> (eponym of the Britannia Roundabout), the course redefined from time to time.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207122065 |title=Racing |newspaper=Adelaide Times |volume=VII |issue=1050 |location=South Australia |date=20 December 1853 |access-date=28 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> These were no doubt very fine horses, but gentlemen's hacks not thoroughbreds,{{efn|W. S. Whitington imported the first thoroughbred horse, Actæon, into South Australia in 1840. The Gleeson brothers, with Abdallah, were not far behind.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73842148 |title=Advertising |newspaper=South Australian Register |location=South Australia |date=8 May 1841 |access-date=1 September 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>}} and ridden by their owners, not professional jockeys.
A Turf Club was formed in August 1838, conducting two-day meetings in January 1839<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71685002 |title=The Southern Australian. |newspaper=The Southern Australian |location=South Australia |date=5 January 1839 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and January 1840,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71618919 |title=The Races |newspaper=The Southern Australian |volume=III |issue=84 |location=South Australia |date=9 January 1840 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> then folded. It was re-formed in 1848, adopting Newmarket Rules to obviate the kind of disputes which sank its predecessor, and vice-regal patronage to ensure access to the racecourse.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195937100 |title=Local News |newspaper=South Australian Gazette and Mining Journal |volume=IV |issue=194 |location=South Australia |date=10 February 1849 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In the ensuing years, racing activity centred on "private matches" between horses, such as that between Mercury and Coronet,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38448774 |title=Sporting Intelligence |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XV |issue=1560 |location=South Australia |date=23 September 1851 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> often attracting great public interest and consequent wagers. Three-day "summer meetings" were held in January 1850<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38449323 |title=The Adelaide Races |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XIV |issue=1007 |location=South Australia |date=2 January 1850 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> on a new track<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71625382 |title=Sporting Intelligence |newspaper=The South Australian |volume=XIII |issue=1111 |location=South Australia |date=1 January 1850 |access-date=28 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> in November 1850,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38439734 |title=Sporting Intelligence |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XIV |issue=1269 |location=South Australia |date=6 November 1850 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> November 1851,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207070335 |title=The Races |newspaper=Adelaide Times |volume=VI |issue=605 |location=South Australia |date=5 November 1851 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> December 1852,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38460032 |title=Adelaide Races |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XVI |issue=1962 |location=South Australia |date=29 December 1852 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and December 1853.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207120922 |title=Advertising |newspaper=Adelaide Times |volume=VII |issue=983 |location=South Australia |date=1 October 1853 |accessdate=20 August 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Similar "autumn meetings" were held in May 1854<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48552761 |title=Adelaide Races—1854. |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XVIII |issue=2384 |location=South Australia |date=10 May 1854 |access-date=21 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and April 1855<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207023344 |title=Adelaide Races—The Entries |newspaper=Adelaide Times |volume=X |issue=1452 |location=South Australia |date=4 April 1855 |access-date=21 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The South Australian Jockey Club was formed in January 1856, and conducted the autumn meetings in April 1856,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49748271 |title=Adelaide Races, 1856. |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XX |issue=2977 |location=South Australia |date=17 April 1856 |access-date=21 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> April 1857,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207174535 |title=Adelaide Races. |newspaper=Adelaide Times |volume=XI |issue=2084 |location=South Australia |date=18 April 1857 |access-date=21 August 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> April 1858,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49776249 |title=Adelaide Races, 1858. |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XXII |issue=3595 |location=South Australia |date=15 April 1858 |access-date=21 August 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> April 1859,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96494454 |title=The Adelaide Races, 1859 |newspaper=South Australian Weekly Chronicle |volume=1 |issue=42 |location=South Australia |date=30 April 1859 |access-date=26 August 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> April 1860,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49893196 |title=Adelaide Races |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XXIV |issue=4217 |location=South Australia |date=20 April 1860 |access-date=26 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> April 1861,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50018061 |title=Adelaide Races |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XXV |issue=4528 |location=South Australia |date=22 April 1861 |access-date=26 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and April 1862<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31809894 |title=South Australian Jockey Club |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |volume=IV |issue=1175 |location=South Australia |date=26 April 1862 |access-date=26 August 2023 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
===Competition from Thebarton=== {{OSM Location map | coord = {{coord|-34.9240 | 138.5940}} <!--latitude and longitude as a +/- decimal.--> | zoom = 12 <!--(1=whole world, 18=a street)--> | width = 300 | height = 200 | shape1=n-circle | shape-color1=red | shape-outline1=white | mark-coord1 = {{coord|-34.9310 | 138.6200}} | mark-title1 = Adelaide racecourse | mark-coord2 = {{coord|-34.9270 | 138.5650}} | mark-title2 = Thebarton racecourse | caption = Adelaide's first racecourses | auto-caption=1 }} The Adelaide suburb of Thebarton was a popular area for equestrian events, and numerous hurdle<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207118664 |title=Adelaide Grand Steeple Chase |newspaper=Adelaide Times |volume=II |issue=242 |location=South Australia |date=4 September 1850 |access-date=28 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and other races were held there in the 1850s and earlier, in the streets and through properties of sympathetic landowners.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158093258 |title=Thebarton Races |newspaper=The Adelaide Observer |volume=XI |issue=508 |location=South Australia |date=19 March 1853 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> A course was laid out on land held by E. M. Bagot and Gabriel Bennett of Bagot & Bennett, stock agents<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106516117 |title=Fifty Years of Racing (19) |newspaper=The Daily Herald (Adelaide) |volume=9 |issue=2594 |location=South Australia |date=13 July 1918 |access-date=30 July 2023 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> — Section 48, bounded by the thoroughfares now known as Henley Beach Road, South Road, Darebin Street and Bagot Avenue. Non-club meetings were held in January 1859,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article788382 |title=Races at Thebarton |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |volume=I |issue=174 |location=South Australia |date=29 January 1859 |access-date=27 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> January 1860,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1200919 |title=The Advertiser. |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |volume=II |issue=465 |location=South Australia |date=7 January 1860 |access-date=27 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and April 1861.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50018203 |title=Races at Thebarton |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XXV |issue=4529 |location=South Australia |date=23 April 1861 |access-date=27 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The Jockey Club re-formed in 1861, and adopted the Thebarton track, dubbed the "Butchers' course" or "South Road course" and, determined to control all horse racing in the State, recovered their grandstand from the Adelaide Course.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article881078 |title=South Australian Jockey Club Summer Meeting |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |volume=IV |issue=1067 |location=South Australia |date=18 December 1861 |access-date=18 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> They held their first summer meeting there on 1–2 January 1862,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90253206 |title=South Australian Jockey Club Races — Summer Meeting, 1862. |newspaper=South Australian Weekly Chronicle |volume=IV |issue=180 |location=South Australia |date=4 January 1862 |access-date=20 August 2023 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and in April 1863 the first three-day SAJC autumn races. Other events were the 1863 St Patrick's Day races and the Grand Annual Steeplechase in September 1866. A pony race which was to have been held at the Adelaide course was transferred to Thebarton, the organisers blaming condition of the track for the decision.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90260441 |title=Advertising |newspaper=South Australian Weekly Chronicle |volume=VI |issue=282 |location=South Australia |date=19 December 1863 |access-date=18 August 2023 |page=1 (Supplement) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The first six Adelaide Cups (1864–1869) were held there.
The race-going public, at first enthusiastic, became disillusioned with the new course — it was hot and dusty, and not so conveniently situated to North Adelaide and the eastern suburbs, so many pleasure-seekers found alternative distractions. The Jockey Club collapsed under weight of its debts<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31991220 |title=The Late South Australian Jockey Club |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |volume=XII |issue=3355 |location=South Australia |date=17 July 1869 |accessdate=26 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and the lease was terminated in 1869.<ref>{{cite book|author=Pauline Payne |title=Thebarton, Old and New |date=17 April 1996 |publisher=Thebarton City Council |isbn=0646301578}}</ref>
===Becomes "Old Adelaide Course"=== Racing continued at the East Park Lands despite pressure from Thebarton. In 1864 P. B. Coglin took a 14-year lease on the Adelaide course.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39809581 |title=Leasing of the Adelaide Racecourse |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XXXIX |issue=8655 |location=South Australia |date=12 August 1874 |access-date=26 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In December 1865 the Old Adelaide Course Racing Club (later Adelaide Racing Club) was formed by a breakaway group from the SAJC,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197035561 |title=South Australia |newspaper=The Leader (Melbourne) |volume=XIV |issue=520 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=16 December 1865 |access-date=30 August 2023 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> sparking a rivalry, at times bordering on vitriolic antagonism, that lasted a hundred years.
The 1869 autumn races were held at the East Park Lands, now dubbed the "Old Adelaide Course"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41399238 |title=Sporting |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XXXIII |issue=7002 |location=South Australia |date=19 April 1869 |access-date=26 August 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The 1870 New Year's races were organised by Gabriel Bennett, who revived regular race meetings there in May 1871.
===Competition from Morphettville=== Some races had been conducted in the Glenelg region in the 1850s, at the rear of John Bernie's Morphett Arms Hotel.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38448625 |title=Sporting Intelligence |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XV |issue=1387 |location=South Australia |date=27 March 1851 |access-date=1 September 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
After five or six years of existence in name only, the SAJC re-formed in 1873, and acquired its own ground at Morphettville (dubbed the "Elder Course" for their benefactor, Thomas Elder, or "Bay of Biscay course" for its unstable soil) and held their first meeting there on 3 January 1876.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31963998 |title=South Australian Jockey Club |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858–1889) |location=Adelaide, SA |date=4 January 1876 |access-date=2 January 2014 |page=6 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The April 1878 three-day autumn meeting was held at the Elder Course, Morphettville,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42989701 |title=The Races |newspaper=South Australian Register |volume=XLIII |issue=9814 |location=South Australia |date=29 April 1878 |access-date=26 August 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and the Adelaide Cup of 1879 was held there on the Tuesday after Easter.
===The "Old Course" revived=== thumb|Jack McGowan riding Jack Spratt at Victoria Park in 1896 In 1879 a 21 year lease on the course was awarded by the City Council to Bennett, William Blackler, Seth Ferry and Dr Robert Peel, who launched the Adelaide Racing Club, which was formally founded on 14 October 1879, adopting Victorian Racing Club rules; the committee to consist of the four lessees plus three elected members: George Church, Henry Hughes, and W. F. Stock.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207656292 |title=Adelaide Racing Club |newspaper=The Express and Telegraph |volume=XVI |issue=4,726 |location=South Australia |date=15 October 1879 |access-date=27 June 2017 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref>
In late 1879 the law prohibiting totalizators on South Australian racecourses was disallowed,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160089034 |title=Totalizator Repeal Act |newspaper=Adelaide Observer |volume=XL |issue=2194 |date=20 October 1883 |access-date=20 August 2017 |page=17 |via=Trove}}</ref> and Ferry purchased a £300 "box tote", which he leased to the Club. It proved profitable for the Club when Mata, banned elsewhere, won the 1881 Birthday Cup.<ref name=fifty>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106517498 |title=Fifty Years of Racing (XX) |newspaper=The Daily Herald |volume=9 |issue=2600 |location=Adelaide |date=20 July 1918 |access-date=2 September 2023 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref>{{efn|This was one of several occasions when SAJC vindictiveness against the rival club backfired — they had been advised by VJC that Mata, a popular Tasmanian mare, had been banned from racing, but did not pass the information on until her entry had been accepted. Huge crowds watched her win the Cup, and AJC was able to convince VRC they had done nothing wrong and suffered no penalty.<ref name=fifty/>}}
Led by Ferry and Blackler, the Club spent so much on the ground,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160131800 |title=Turf Gossip |newspaper=Adelaide Observer |volume=XXXVII |issue=2012 |location=South Australia |date=24 April 1880 |access-date=2 September 2023 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> prizemoney and infrastructure (far more was spent on the grandstand than was required by the Council's covenant) that within a year two lessees dropped out, leaving just Ferry and Blackler, who brought in his son W. A. Blackler as a third shareholder. Several committee members also dropped out, necessitating fresh elections to restore the quorum.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91290758 |title=The Adelaide Racing Club |newspaper=South Australian Weekly Chronicle |volume=XXIV |issue=1,233 |location=South Australia |date=8 April 1882 |access-date=2 September 2023 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In time however, the lease proved a cash cow for the lessees, for which the City Council was roundly criticised by the Adelaide press.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92720185 |title=The Adelaide Course and the Bookmakers |newspaper=South Australian Weekly Chronicle |volume=XXV |issue=1,292 |location=South Australia |date=26 May 1883 |access-date=1 September 2023 |page=15 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> His good fortune did not last, as in 1883 Parliament passed the Totalizator Repeal Act, making its use illegal and race-going less attractive. Then came the drought of 1884–1886, and a consequent recession, which disproportionately affected the ARC, causing a rift between Ferry, who was prepared to wait for better times, and Blackler, who was keen to surrender the lease. The Council wanted to extend Halifax Street through to Fullarton Road, cutting the course in two, and would have compensated them financially. Ferry had his way, and for a few years persevered with low-key meetings with modest prize money and consequently small fields, dominated by Ferry's own stable.
Iconic races such as the Grand National Hurdle and the Adelaide Grand National were run on the track and won by South Australia's leading cross-country jockey Jack McGowan of Brooklyn Park<ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/77926230 |title=Penola Hotel Licensee Well Known Sportsman |newspaper=The Border Watch |location=Mount Gambier, South Australia |date=11 June 1938 |page=3 |access-date=3 January 2021 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> in the late 1800s.
The "Old Course" was renamed "Victoria Park" by mayor Tucker on 4 August 1897.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209095946 |title=The Turf |newspaper=The Express and Telegraph |volume=XXXIV |issue=10,130 |location=South Australia |date=5 August 1897 |access-date=2 September 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
==1935 racebook== <gallery> File:1935 ARC Birthday Cup Racebook P1.jpg|1935 ARC Birthday Cup racebook front cover File:1935 ARC Birthday Cup Racebook P2.jpg|1935 ARC Birthday Cup showing raceday officials File:1935 ARC Birthday Cup Racebook P3.jpg|1935 ARC Birthday Cup starters and results File:1935 ARC Birthday Cup Racebook P4.jpg|1935 ARC Birthday Cup showing the winner, Coronado File:1935 ARC Birthday Cup Racebook P5.jpg|1935 ARC Birthday Cup showing charges of admission
</gallery>
==Twentieth century== {{see also|Australian Grand Prix#Formula One}}
==Twenty-first century== Following the rejection of a proposal to upgrade horse and motor racing facilities in early 2008, the SAJC vacated the premises, moving their home course to Morphettville Racecourse. The 1950s-era SAJC grandstand was demolished, as was a large brick wall adjacent Fullarton Road and other utility buildings. The heritage-listed 1880s-era grandstand was refurbished as part of a $16 million upgrade of the park's facilities.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/adelaide-oval-history-lies-in-ruins/story-e6frea83-1225734480017| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111005135911/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/adelaide-oval-history-lies-in-ruins/story-e6frea83-1225734480017| archive-date = 2011-10-05| title = Adelaide Oval history lies in ruins {{!}} Adelaide Now}} </ref> The park remains one of the venues for the Adelaide International Horse Trials.
In August 2008, the Adelaide City Council announced plans to turn Victoria Park into a "people's park", incorporating wetlands, community sporting facilities, walking tracks and temporary motor racing facilities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24257717-5006301,00.html |title=Lord Mayor vows Victoria Park to be among world's best |date=27 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901182332/http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24257717-5006301,00.html |archive-date=1 September 2008 }}</ref>
Part of the Adelaide Street Circuit was built in the northern portion of the park. Temporary grandstands and other facilities were erected whenever motor racing events were hosted there. The Australian Grand Prix took place from 1985 to 1995, and a one-off Le Mans series event, the Race of a Thousand Years on 31 December 2000.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010201000000*/https://www.forbes.com/2000/12/12/1211rrr.html] Adelaide: Race of a Thousand Years] ''Forbes'' 14 December 2000</ref>
The circuit hosted the Adelaide 500 from 1999 until 2020; its cancellation for 2021 was announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, and declining attendance.<ref name="ABC2020">[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-30/adelaide-500-race-cancellation-prompts-calls-for-replacement/12829980 Adelaide 500 Supercars race cancellation prompts calls for replacement events] ''ABC News'', 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.</ref> In 2020, the government established a COVID-19 testing site inside the park.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/sa-covid-testing-clinic-opens-at-victoria-park-as-new-case-declared-false-positive-c-1217847| title = SA COVID testing clinic opens at Victoria Park as new case declared false positive|website=Seven News| date = 5 August 2020}}</ref> The Adelaide 500 returned as the final round of the 2022 series.<ref>[https://autoaction.com.au/2022/03/19/the-adelaide-500-is-officially-back The Adelaide 500 is officially back] ''Auto Action'' 19 March 2022</ref>
==Notes== {{Notelist}} ==References== {{Reflist}}
{{AdelaideParklands}}
{{AdelaideRacing}}
Category:Horse racing venues in Australia Category:Parks in Adelaide Category:Sports venues in Adelaide