The Melbourne Cup is the major thoroughbred horse race that is run in Australia at the Flemington Racecourse in Victoria.
History
In 2011, the Melbourne Cup will be celebrating its 150th year of horse racing. In 1861, the first ever Melbourne Cup was run. 1875 was the first time that the Cup was run on a Tuesday and from 1877 the first Tuesday in November was declared a public holiday in Victoria, Australia. The race is now known as “the race that stops a nation.” Today, the Melbourne Cup attracts a crowd of more than 120,000 people at Flemington. There is a total purse of $6 million with the winner being paid $3.3 million.
Race Conditions
The Melbourne Cup is a handicap race for thoroughbred horses that are 3 years old or older. There is no maximum weight, although the highest allocated weight cannot be less than 57kg and the minimum weight is 49kg. The weight of the jockey and the riding gear is adjusted to a nominated weight with ballast.
Distance
The Melbourne Cup was originally run at a distance of 2 miles. In 1972, the race was converted from imperial to metric measurements and since that time the distance has been 3200 meters.
Horses
Horses from all over the world participate in the Melbourne Cup. Due to strict quarantine laws in Australia, all horses coming from overseas (excluding those from new Zealand) must be quarantined in their home countries for 14 days prior to traveling to Australia. The world record for the Melbourne Cup is held by Japanese horse, Deep Impact at 3:13.4 over the 3200m track.