Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major horse race. It happens once a year. People say it is The race that stops a nation, it is for horses three-years-old and over, and it is 3200 metres long. The event has been held on the first Tuesday in November since 1861 (except on one year during the Second World War) by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Many people say it is the most important "two-mile" horse race in the world.

The race was first held over two miles, about 3,218 metres, but after Australia changed to the metric system in 1972 it was changed to 3,200 metres. This made it 61 ft 6in shorter, and Rain Lover's 1968 race record of 3min.19.1sec was changed to 3min.17.9sec. Now, the record holder is the 1990 winner Kingston Rule with a time of 3min 16.3sec.

The race starts at 3.00pm Melbourne (AEST) time.

Attendance

The event is one of the most popular events to watch in Australia. Over 110,000 people attend the race. Some people dress in traditional formal raceday clothing. Other people dress in different kinds of strange and amusing costumes, In 2005 a total of 383,784 race fans went to the Melbourne Cup Carnival annual event

History

An engraving of the finish line at the Cup in 1881.

Seventeen horses raced in the first Melbourne Cup in 1861. The prize was a gold watch and 170 pounds cash. Some people say Archer (the winner) walked 800 km to the course from Nowra, New South Wales. However, it is possible he travelled by ship. Four thousand people watched the race.

Archer won again the next year. However, because the owner's application form arrived late the next year, Archer was unable to try for a third cup. Many owners boycotted (did not race in protest) the race, so it started with only seven horses. That is the smallest number in the history of the cup.

The winner of the Melbourne Cup last year was Rekindling, from Great Britain.

Off the track

'Fashions On The Field' is a major focus of the day. Raceday fashion sometimes draws almost as much attention as the race itself. The miniskirt received worldwide attention when model Jean Shrimpton wore one on Derby Day during Melbourne Cup week in 1965.

In Melbourne, the race day is a public holiday. In the rest of Australia most people watch the race on television and gamble. Some people bet at the TAB (the Australian betting office). Other people bet in workplace cup "sweeps". (In "sweeps" each person pays a small amount [e.g. $3] and draws a random horse. First, second, and third place then share the money.) In 2000 it was estimated that 80 percent of the adult Australian population placed a bet on the race that year.

Betting on the Melbourne Cup has become more and more popular over the years, with one time a year punters having a crack at picking the winning horse.