Vaal · The new signature suite
Empress Club.
The Vaal's newly refurbished second-floor signature suite — named for the Millards' Galloping Goldmine, trained out of the Vaal training centre. Elevated race-day dining, dedicated tote and bar, and a choice of indoor seating or open deck overlooking the country course.
The suite.
An elevated room on the country course.
The Empress Club is the Vaal’s second-floor signature hospitality suite, refurbished and reopened in 2025 as part of 4Racing’s broader investment in the venue. The room offers a choice of indoor dining or an open deck overlooking the home straight, with dedicated televisions, tote and bar facilities throughout. Designed for race-day groups, owners and connections, corporate hospitality and private gatherings, the suite balances the unhurried character of a Vaal race day with the standards of any premium private dining room.
The room is named for Empress Club — known in racing circles as the Millards’ “Galloping Goldmine” and trained out of the Vaal training centre. Naming the signature suite after her keeps the venue’s working-racing identity visible: the Vaal has always been a place where the country’s best horsemen train horses, and the Empress Club room is an extension of that pride into the modern hospitality space.
The room at a glance
Key facts on Empress Club.
Location
Elevated suite with indoor dining and an open deck onto the home straight.
Refurbished
Reopened in 2025 following a full second-floor renovation.
Seating
Choice of fully enclosed indoor dining or an outdoor deck overlooking the course.
Facilities
Dedicated tote, bar and televisions throughout the suite.
Experience
The country course's signature room.
Empress Club sits inside the Vaal grandstand — overlooking the country's longest straight and the Vaal Triangle landscape beyond it. The room hosts the venue's Grand Heritage day in spring, and is open across the year-round Vaal calendar — Friday and weekend country racing, owner and trainer days, and corporate hospitality. The unhurried atmosphere of a Vaal race day is preserved through the room itself: a generous space, a relaxed pace, and the full theatre of the Vaal Turf and Vaal Classic running beyond the glass.
The Vaal racecourseGallery.
Inside Empress Club.
Book the suite
Enquire about Empress Club.
For race day bookings, private entertainment and bespoke group experiences in the Empress Club at the Vaal, please contact our reservations team.
[email protected]