A German horse racing enthusiast who has visited more than 500 racecourses around the world has added Canberra’s Thoroughbred Park to his collection, making it his 532nd track.

Werner Malinka, from near Düsseldorf, visited the course on Friday (October 23) during Raw Potential Race Day, more than 51 years after attending his first race meeting in Leipzig in May 1975.

The retired chemist, who finished a 50-year career in September, is travelling through Australia and New Zealand for three months, visiting racecourses along the way.

His collection includes every racecourse in the United Kingdom, more than 100 in France and 76 in Germany, as well as tracks in Japan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Barbados and Chile.

Malinka says he prefers smaller racecourses for their accessibility and hospitality.

“I like the smaller racecourses compared to the big ones. You get more access to take photos and explore, and the hospitality is much better,” he says.

Among his more unusual racing experiences are watching horses swim in the ocean in Barbados, attending races on a frozen lake in Switzerland and watching from a rooftop hotel pool in Dubai.

After visiting Thoroughbred Park, Malinka also travelled to Queanbeyan Racecourse.

Canberra Racing Club’s head of commercial and communications, Robbie Ringland, says the club was delighted to welcome him.

Malinka will continue his journey through New Zealand before returning to Germany at the end of November.

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