Muswellbrook Race Club is located in the heart of Australia’s major thoroughbred breeding region in the Upper Hunter Valley, 250km from Sydney and 120km west of Newcastle. Muswellbrook racecourse, located 2.5 km west of the town centre, is named Skellatar Park after the original estate on which the racecourse was tablished in the late 1800s. Muswellbrook racecourse is major regional training centre with the course proper, B grass, sand, cinders and dirt tracks utilised for training. Major race days are the Muswellbrook Cup meeting in December, an event previously held for years on Melbourne Cup day in November, and a heat of the NSW Country Championship in March.