Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup is a VRC Group 1 for 3 year olds and over and is held under open handicap conditions.

The Melbourne Cup is contested over a distance of 3200 metres and is held annually at Flemington Racecourse on the first Tuesday in November.

Prize money for the Melbourne Cup is worth $6,000,000.

The race has been held since 1861 and was originally held over two miles (about 3,218 metres) but following preparation for Australia's adoption of the metric system in the 1970s, the current race distance of 3,200 metres was established in 1972. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Races such as the Group 2 Lexus Stakes or Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes on Victoria Derby Day are traditional lead up races to the Melbourne Cup.

The Melbourne Cup has become a global event since 1993 with a number of international horses from a variety of countries making the trek to Australia in a hit or miss mission to win the big prize money on offer.

The Melbourne Cup was first raced on 7th November 1861 over a distance of two miles.

Melbourne Cup Day is the first Tuesday in November and has been a public holiday for the city since the mid 1870s.

The Melbourne Cup is celebrated as a special day around the country. 

The winner of the first Melbourne Cup, Archer (6/1), there was 17 in the field. First prize was a gold watch and £170.

His was the slowest winning time yet recorded for the race (3:52). The Cup was first presented to a winner in 1916. Since 1875 the Melbourne Cup has been held on the first Tuesday in November. This Melbourne Cup race attracted just 4000 people. Over the next 20 years over 100,000 people would come to see the race each year.

The largest ever attendance for the Melbourne Cup was in 2003 when more than 122,000 people attended and saw Makybe Diva win the Melbourne Cup.

In 1972 the Melbourne Cup race was converted to the metric distance of 3200 metres which is 18.69 metres or 61.30 feet short of two miles. Melbourne Cup Trivia