HP117 The Melbourne Cup

Welcome to history podcast episode 117. This episode‘s script is written by Fiona Skepper. Thank you Fiona.

The first Tuesday in November is a day well known in Australia, and also the world racing community. It is the day of the Melbourne Cup. It is known as "the race that stops a nation." Shops, workplaces and schools stop for a few minutes in the afternoon to crowd around the television set and watch the race unfold.

The 5.65 million prize Melbourne Cup is the richest handicap race in the world. It occurs at Flemington Race course not far from central Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, and can be reached by car, train (stopping directing in front of the Racecourse) or boat, along the Yarra river.

In 2007, it was estimated Worldwide that more than $140 million was bet on the Melbourne Cup race alone.

It is a marathon for a horse the greatest 3200 metre (which I think is two miles), handicap horse-race in the world.

It is the pinnacle of weeks of horse races around this time in Melbourne, which is known as the "Spring racing carnival."

In the state of Victoria itself it is a public holiday with many families having cup day parties or Barbeques, in the warm spring weather.

It is often the only day many people place a bet on a horse race and betting shops employ extra staff to help people fill in their betting slips correctly.

Over the years fashion has also become paramount with parades and awards, and top designers vie to have celebrities and models wear their creations at the cup. For months leading up to the event shops display outfits and hats for Spring racing in their shop window. Top Corporations spend thousand‘s of dollars setting up marquees, in the member‘s area. In 2006 the Cup‘s main Sponsor Emirates Airlines created a marquee that was decorated to represent the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace complete with painted ceilings. In 2007 Emirates tried a Venetian Palace, which was filed with French Moet Champagne, a two-storey chandelier adorned with flowers and six tonnes of ice to carve a frozen bar.

It is not only the wealthy who go however, anyone can attend the public area if they buy a ticket, many dress up. Sometimes racegoers chose to treat the event as a joke and wear drag or other costumes (star trek, animal mascot you name it) instead of their fashion best.

The race began in 1861 before the colonies had even federated to become the nation of Australia (which occurred on January 1st 1901). The first winner was the horse "Archer" and he won 200 sovereigns (there is a telemovie somewhere of the same name staring a very young Nicole Kidman if anyone wants to try and search it out).

By 1880, 100,000 people made the journey to Flemington. It was the place to be seen for the social set, politicians and Australia‘s rich and famous as much in the early days as it is today.

In 1896 Marius Sestier shot the race using a Lumiere Cinèmatographe, and it is one of the earliest pieces of moving picture film that still exists.

The race is open to international horses, many of who have won it especially in the last few years.

The most famous horse to win the race was Phar Lap, his statute stands outside the Victorian Racing Club at Flemington racecourse today and his stuffed body is in the Melbourne Museum. He won the depression era 1930 Cup. He used to win races so often that some bookies refused to take bets on him, he became the people‘s hero, being safer to invest money in than a bank. He was an 11/8 on favourite in the 1930 Melbourne Cup - the shortest priced winner in the 145 year history of the Cup.

The most successful Melbourne Cup winner however was the mare "Makybe Diva" who won three Melbourne cups in a row, in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Her statute was unveiled a Flemington on the 8th September 2008, near that of Phar Lap‘s.

Thank you for listening to this episode of history podcast. Thank you especially to Fiona Skepper for writing and sending this script to me at historypodcast@gmail.com.

Sources
http://www.melbournecup.com/melbourne-cup-carnival/history-of-melbourne-cup.asp
http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/melbourne-cup-1896/
http://experiencingtheemirates.blogspot.com/2007/11/emirates-tent-for-melbourne-cup-is-over.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20519738-28957,00.html