Tasmanian Race Dates for 2026/27 Released

The 2026/27 racing season will feature 61 thoroughbred meetings, 87 harness meetings and 156 greyhound meetings.

Of the thoroughbred meetings, the Tasmanian Derby and Hobart Cup will again be run over the Regatta Day long weekend.

The Launceston Cup will follow 17 days after the Hobart Cup, while the Devonport Cup will be held on Wednesday 6 January 2027.

There will be 12 Friday night meetings at Launceston during the season, with night racing to begin two weeks earlier on Wednesday 16 September 2026.

The Tasmanian Turf Club will host 26 meetings for the season, including the traditional New Year’s Day meeting at Longford. The Tasmanian Racing Club will host 23 meetings, while Devonport Racing Club will host 12 meetings on the Tapeta surface at Spreyton.

Harness highlights for the season include Saturday Sky 1 timeslots for key races including the:

• Group 1 Tasmania Cup on Saturday 19 December 2026.
• The Beautide, on Saturday 1 August 2026.
• Dandy Patch and Evicus Finals on Saturday 31 October 2026.
• Devonport Cup meeting on Saturday 30 January 2027, allocated to the Launceston Pacing Club.
• Group 2 Easter Cup Final on Saturday 27 March 2027.
• The Tasmanian Trotting Club and Hobart Greyhound Racing Club will hold a dual-code meeting on Good Friday, 26 March 2027.

In greyhounds, feature group races will be run as follows:

• 10 December 2026 – Group 1 Hobart Thousand Night – HGRC
• 14 January 2027 – Group 3 Ladbrokes Chase Final Night – HGRC on behalf of NWGRC.
• 1 February 2027 – Group 2 Launceston Cup Final Night – LGRC.

Launceston will also host two Thursday night meetings on Sky 1 on 6 and 13 August 2026, aligning with the National Sprint and Distance Grand Finals.

CEO Andrew Jenkins said Tasracing, which was responsible for the allocation of race dates, considered Sky 1 coverage as a priority when making these decisions.

“We also consider on-course attendance, tradition and community impact, major racing carnivals, feature races and gazetted public holidays,” he said.

Prior to finalising these race dates, Mr Jenkins said Tasracing engaged extensively with racing clubs and did its best to accommodate their specific requests.

The tri-code race day calendar can be accessed from the Race Dates pages on each individual code's hub page (Thoroughbreds, Harness and Greyhounds), or you can click here.