The site was originally a lagoon and swamp which was drained in the early 1900s to create the racecourse.Weirick, J.Watering Sydney. Architecture Australia, accessed 13 January 2008. The racecourse was developed and privately owned by Sir James John Joynton Smith (1858–1943), a hotelier, racecourse and newspaper owner. Smith, Sir James John Joynton (1858 - 1943) Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition. Accessed 13 January 2008. It was said at the time to be the grandest and finest of the pony horseracing course in Sydney.
