The Race That Stops A Nation
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No, I’m not talking about the race to control Congress in Tuesday’s mid-terms, the nation that gets stopped is Australia and the race is the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup.
The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s major Thoroughbred horse race. Billed as “the race that stops a nation,” it is a race for three-year-olds and over, over a distance of 3,200 meters (2 miles). It is the richest and most prestigious “two-mile” handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races in the world. The event is held at around 3 pm on the first Tuesday in November by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
An engraving of the 1851 Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup Carnival is a week long event, but Tuesday’s race is the big one. The sports-mad Aussies take to this event like no other. Almost everyone has a flutter or a punt (bet) on the race and many a grandmother has treated her grandkids to a day out on her winnings from her once a year $2 stake. The only other horse race in the world that touches non-horse racing fans in massive numbers, is the English Grand National, which is ran every spring. The English Derby and the Kentucky Derby are perhaps are more graceful affairs, but the Melbourne Cup reaches out to every corner of the vast island continent and it has become a celebration of Australia.
Makybe Diva – The only three time winner of the Melbourne Cup
The total prize money for the 2010 race will be AUD$6 million, plus trophies valued at $125,000. The first 10 past the post receive prize money, with the winner being paid $3.3 million, down to tenth place which receives $115,000. Prize money is distributed to the connections of each horse in the ratio of 85% to the owner, 10% to the trainer and 5% to the jockey.
The record crowd on Cup day is 122,000, with another big one expected on Tuesday, but be sure in every corner of Australia’s 2,941,299 square miles, millions will be tuning in (probably on their phones) to catch a piece of the 3 minute race. This is why it is billed as “the race that stops a nation.”
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I wonder if all those deadly critters down under also stop for the race.
Nope.
Snakes, spiders, sea snakes, scorpion fish, fire ants, sharks, sea wasps, millions on millions of extremely toxic yet tiny little jellyfish.
None of them stop for the race.
Did I mention the spiders?
Thats why I chose New Zealand.
None of the above.
I’m quite brave when it comes to sheep.
TSB writes:
“I’m quite brave when it comes to sheep.”
MM is rolling on floor laughing his ass off 🙂
Thank you MM,
don’t under-estimate the ferocity of sheep, especially down here in NZ. There’s so many of the buggers (A polite term down here in NZ, honestly) that if they turn against us, we’re doomed.
The bunny rabbits are pretty nasty as well.
BTW I wasn’t joking about bugger. There was a famous court case down here some years ago, regarding an advert that used the word. It was cleared as a common usage word by our judiciary. First common sense decision they’ve made.
See the advert by click here
Anything that gives the Aussies an excuse to drink beer (or Chardonnay these days)get in the sun and eat barbies stops the nation. The horses are mostly irrelevant.
Kiwi horses win the Cup occasionally, is this the year for another triumph?
LOL TSB!
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