Champ de Mars Racecourse, Port Louis

The Champ de Mars Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse race track in Port Louis, Mauritius. The Racecourse was inaugurated on 25 June 1812, by The Mauritius Turf Club which was founded earlier in the same year by Edward Alured Draper, who served in different capacities, namely as Chief of Police, Colonial Secretary, Collector of Customs, Civil engineer, Registrar of Slaves, Magistrate and Colonial Treasurer. The Mauritius Turf Club is the oldest horse-racing club in the Southern Hemisphere and the second oldest in the world. The race track follows a very selective right hand oval path and is relatively small in size, with a circumference of 1,298 meters and width between 12 and 14 meters. The home-straight extends uphill and is 225 meters long. When Mauritius gained independence on 12 March 1968, the event including the flag hoisting ceremony was held here. Since then and for many years, the racecourse has seen the annual celebration of the accession to independence. ()