Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous horse race, and is truly the "race, that stops a nation".
It is now the richest handicap in the world, worth some $6 million and attracts in excess of 100,000 racegoers to the Flemington racecourse. The Melbourne Cup continues to have an increasingly popular international appeal since the breakthrough win of Irish-trained Vintage Crop in 1993. To put this into perspective, winning the Melbourne Cup automatically propels the horse, trainer, owners into a part of Australian racing history - the 'holy grail' of all horse racing.
In 2010, it is expected an audience in excess of 700 million from 120 countries
will watch the race live and relive multiple replays.
In many ways the Melbourne Cup is an anachronism - being a handicap and run over the unfashionable distance of 3200m - when in other countries the feature events are more likely to be run at weight-for-age and over 2000m to 2400m.
The race has produced some outstanding champions in many forms. Makybe Diva holds the record for the most Melbourne Cup wins by a horse, winning the prestigious race three times in consecutive years, 2003, 2004 & 2005. Bart Cummings sets the current record for the most Melbourne Cup wins by a trainer, a current tally of 12 wins.
Who will win this year’s 2010 Emirates Melbourne Cup? Will it be last year’s winner Shocking making it a Melbourne Cup Double? Or an international runner, or the emerging Alcopop? Nominations for this year's Melbourne Cup sit at 253, with 45 international runners vying for a barrier gate.
Looking for more information?
- Race Day Information - getting to and from the track.
- View previous winners by Results, Breedings, Jockeys and Trainers.
- Check out the latest Spring Racing Carnival Guide for Metro and Country meets.
Click here for the latest betting odds on the Melbourne Cup and Spring Racing Carnival at IASbet.com .