Valparaiso Sporting Club

Valparaiso Sporting Club is a thoroughbred horse race track in Vina del Mar, Valparaiso Region, Chile.

History

Valparaiso Sporting Club was founded in 1882 by members of mostly British origin. Since 1885, it is the site of the Chilean Derby Stakes. Derby Day is considered the second biggest festival in Chile and regularly attracts attendances of up to 80.000 [http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/chregvina/qt/DerbyDay.htm] .

In 1920, Valparaiso Sporting Club was also the site of the South American Championship (soccer) final.

While it is situated in Viña del Mar, the track is named for the nearby city of Valparaiso, where most of the Clubs' founders lived. As the name suggests, the site also features playing fields for various other sports, such as Cricket, Soccer, Polo and Rugby.

Physical Attributes

Races are conducted on a left-handed turf course, about 2000 meters long.

Racing

Purses at VSC are lower than at the two Greater Santiago tracks, Hipodromo Chile and Club Hipico de Santiago, but considerably higher than at the provincial tracks Club Hipico de Concepcion and Club Hipico de Antofagasta. Several prestigious stakes races are run at Valparaiso.

2006 Major Stakes Schedule

External links

[http://www.sporting.cl Home Page]