The Gong Calcutta 2025

Love the thrill of horse racing? Enjoy a bit of friendly banter and healthy competition? Then don’t miss The Gong Calcutta at Wests Illawarra – the perfect way to get into the racing spirit ahead of the big day!

the big race

The Gong is considered the biggest and most prestigious horse race in the Illawarra region. And in 2025, the race will run on Saturday 22nd November at Kembla Grange Racecourse.

join the calcutta fun the night before the race

This Calcutta event takes place the Friday night before the race, on Friday 21st November 2025!

Hosted by race caller and broadcaster, Luke Marlow
No need to register! This event is free – simply join us at 6:30pm on Friday 21st November
This event is being held in the Montage Lounge at Wests Illawarra
Please note: seating cannot be reserved, it is first come etc
Wilbur, our 32-inch reverse offset smoker, will be fired up and serving authentic American BBQ flavours – straight from Craft Café (next to The Montage Lounge)

new to calcuttas?

how does a calcutta work?

A Calcutta consists of two main parts;

Selling/drawing of raffle tickets
Auction of each horse in the selected race

stage 1: raffle

RAFFLE

SELLING

Each Calcutta ticket sold starts the pool for the Calcutta auction. The more that are sold, the greater the starting prize pool
Tickets are sold for $5 each. They can be purchased by anyone, with no limit on the number of tickets each person can buy
All funds raised in the selling of raffle tickets go into the Calcutta Pool
Raffle ticket selling is conducted prior to the event from Reception and also in the first part of the event night

DRAWING

Once the selling has closed, the raffle begins
A winning ticket is drawn for EACH HORSE in the race
The winning ticket holder then 'owns' that horse for the auction. They will win 50% of the amount that horse sells for in the Calcutta Auction. The finishing position of the horse in the race is irrelevant to the outcome of the winning ticket holder for each horse

stage 2: auction

AUCTION

Once all horses in the field have been 'drawn' as per above, the auction can begin
Each horse in the race is auctioned and punters can 'buy' that horse in the Calcutta. The highest bidder in the auction stage becomes the new owner of that horse. Successful bidders must pay for their horses on the night – Cash and EFTPOS/Credit Card facilities will be available
- All EFT payments will be processed in the week following the race
After a given horse has been auctioned, 50% of the auction amount goes towards the final Calcutta pool and 50% of the funds go to the person who drew that horse in the raffle
- As an example, if Horse #1 sells for $100 at the auction, $50 will go into the pool and the person who drew that horse in the raffle will also receive $50

stage 3: after the race

AFTER THE RACE

After the running of The Gong on November 22nd 2025, the prize pool (consisting of all ticket sales plus fifty per cent of auction proceeds) is divided as follows:
- 60% to the owner of the winning horse;
- 20% to the owner of the second placegetter; and
- 10% to the owner of the third placegetter
- 10% will be donated to a local charity or person in need

Please note: On any horses scratched after the Auction, 50% of the Bidding price will be refunded, not a full refund