The Darwin Cup carnival conducts by Darwin Turf Club on Fannie Bay Racecourse, has grown since the 1980s into one of the most popular racing events in Australia attracting thousands of interstate visitors each year. The Fannie Bay Racecourse is a sandy dirt track and is covered with sump oil that seals the surface and ensures racing can continue during the summer wet season. Darwin Turf Club now conducts 39 race meetings each year with the pinnacle being the Darwin Cup carnival that extends over eight meetings during the height of the dry season in July and August.

It has a circumference of 1780 metres and features a downhill back straight run. The course proper is 15 metres wide with a horseshow turn from the 600m to the start of the 340 metres home straight. Races are held in the anti-clockwise directions over distances from 900m to 2000m. There is a starting chute for races over 1300 metres that extends the back straight run to the home turn to 650 metres.