The Canberra Racing Club was formed in 1925, with the first race meeting conducted at the Acton racetrack, now submerged beneath
Lake Burley Griffin. Approval for a new racecourse at the contemporary site was granted in 1950, but racing continued at the Acton racetrack until 1962 when the club moved to its current location in Lyneham. The first meeting at the racecourse was held on 3 November, 1962. The following year, during a
royal visit to Canberra as part of the
bicentennial celebrations,
Queen Elizabeth II attended a race meeting at the course and opened the new Queen Elizabeth II Grandstand. In 2022, the
ACT Government released a draft strategy document that proposed options for redeveloping the racecourse for housing, but later distanced themselves from an intention to close the racecourse entirely. In 2024, the
ACT Greens announced a plan to
compulsorily acquire the racecourse to redevelop it in entirety as a new suburb. ==Transport==