Kembla Grange Racecourse Tips [February 2025]

Kembla Grange Racecourse Preview

Kembla Grange Racecourse is located 80km south of Sydney and is also known as the Illawarra Turf Club, as they own the track. For those living in the south of NSW, Kembla Grange is one of the best tracks and is just 10km west of the Wollongong CBD. Runners have a 420m home straight to contend with at Kembla Grange.

Due to its reputation as a major provincial racing venue, we always see heaps of Kembla Grange racing tips on race days. The new course design of Kembla Grange is similar to that of Randwick and we see over 30 meetings each year take place at the track, with most occurring on a Saturday.

Kembla Grange Betting Strategy Types

It’s always a good idea to think about what your betting strategy is going to be for Kembla Grange races. Most of the time, you’ll see horse racing tips, like Kembla Grange race tips that focus on different bet types. No matter the type of bettor you are, you’ll find something that suits you.

For this page, we are just going to talk about a handful of different bet types, so you can get a taste of what’s available. The three in particular that we are going to focus on include:

Exacta

If you want to take things up another notch but don’t want to go too far down the exotic tips path, the Exacta bet is a good option. It’s fairly easy to understand and if you can land it, a decent enough payout is likely, especially if you’ve included a roughie or two in your bet.

To win your Exacta bet, you have to pick the first two finishing horses in a race at Kembla Grange, in the correct order. When it comes to the Exacta, you’ll see heaps of Kembla Grange horse racing tips because it is such an interesting bet type.

Treble

You’ll see heaps of Saturday tips that revolve around the Treble bet and this includes Kembla Grange races today tips. A Treble is a fun bet type to play around with and you could be in for a significant payout if you can successfully land one.

For a Treble bet type to be successful, you need to pick the winner of three pre-nominated races on the card at Kembla Grange. To make things easier for you, you can add more than three runners to your bet, but the more runners you add, the lower your odds will be.

Quadrella

One of the most fun bet types of them all, the Quadrella, also known as a Quaddie. When it comes to tips for Kembla Grange, many like to try their hand at a Quaddie as there are some seriously eye-popping payouts on the line.

If you followed and understood the Treble bet type, then you won’t find it too difficult to understand the Quaddie, which involves picking the winner of four pre-nominated races on the card at Kembla Grange. With such difficulty of just picking one winner, it is easy to see why the payout potential is so high.

Kembla Grange Racecourse History

Race meetings took place in the Wollongong areas by the original Illawarra Turf Club starting in 1834. The present site of Kembla Grange Racecourse was bought in the early 1900s and a new course was designed, which was a replica of Randwick Racecourse.

The current Illawarra Turf Club was formed and operates the track with the first race at the track held in 1976. Several organisations have been operating racing at Kembla Grange up until when the present Illawarra Turf Club was formed.

Distance:	Guide:
1,000m	At the shortest distance, runners begin the race in a chute of the course proper and are fed onto the race in the middle of a wide turn. The turn isn’t very sharp, but due to the short distance, inside barriers might be preferred.
1,200m	For races at the 1,200m mark, runners begin in a different chute a little bit further back on the course. The chute feeds into the beginning for the first wide-sweeping turn, therefore, inside barriers may have an advantage.
1,300m	Starting on the course proper, runners have a short amount of distance before the first and final turn in the race. As there isn’t a lot of time to sort themselves out, inside barriers have a bit of an advantage.
1,400m	At this distance, the race starts a 100m back on the track compared to the 1,300m races. Therefore, inside barriers do have a minor advantage, but there’s more time for runners to jostle for a good position.
1,600m	Very similar to the 1,400m races, except runners begin a further 200m back and have a significant amount of straight to sort themselves out before the first and final turn. Inside barriers don’t have much of an advantage here.
2,000m	Races slated at a distance of 2,000m begin just before the finishing post meaning runners have to complete almost a full lap of the course. The race begins on the sharper of two turns, so insider barriers have an advantage.

1,000m

Guide:

At the shortest distance, runners begin the race in a chute of the course proper and are fed onto the race in the middle of a wide turn. The turn isn’t very sharp, but due to the short distance, inside barriers might be preferred.

1,200m

Guide:

For races at the 1,200m mark, runners begin in a different chute a little bit further back on the course. The chute feeds into the beginning for the first wide-sweeping turn, therefore, inside barriers may have an advantage.

1,300m

Guide:

Starting on the course proper, runners have a short amount of distance before the first and final turn in the race. As there isn’t a lot of time to sort themselves out, inside barriers have a bit of an advantage.

1,400m

Guide:

At this distance, the race starts a 100m back on the track compared to the 1,300m races. Therefore, inside barriers do have a minor advantage, but there’s more time for runners to jostle for a good position.

1,600m

Guide:

Very similar to the 1,400m races, except runners begin a further 200m back and have a significant amount of straight to sort themselves out before the first and final turn. Inside barriers don’t have much of an advantage here.

2,000m

Guide:

Races slated at a distance of 2,000m begin just before the finishing post meaning runners have to complete almost a full lap of the course. The race begins on the sharper of two turns, so insider barriers have an advantage.

How to Get to Kembla Grange Racecourse

If you’ve got your Kembla Grange race tips and are ready to head to the track, it’s a good idea to plan how you’re going to get there, so you don’t miss out on any of the action. Kembla Grange Racecourse has public parking available if you are looking to drive yourself.

They also offer a free courtesy bus that stops at Dapto Train Station, Unanderra Train Station as well as Wollongong Train Station on Saturday race meetings or feature race days. If you are catching public transport, Kembla Grange Train Station is situated across the road from the track, making that the best option.

If public transport isn’t your thing, there is a taxi rank available near the course, which is located in front of the turnstiles at the main entrance. Rideshare options are another option if you don’t want to drive yourself or catch public transport.