The Melbourne Cup might not be the biggest Horse Race in the world, but in Australia, it definitely is THE iconic day on the horseracing calendar. The Melbourne Cup is the most renowned Thoroughbred horse race in Australia. It is a 3200-metre event for three-year-olds and older held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria, as part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It is the world’s richest “two-mile” handicap and one of the wealthiest turf events. In Australia, the race is known as “the race that stops the Nation ”.
How many People attend Melbourne Cup Raceday on Average – Since its inception, the average attendance on Melbourne Cup day has been approximately 90 000 people. The 100,000 milestones were first surpassed in 1926, and this achievement has been repeated several times since then. However, in 2018 and 2019, attendance dropped to just over 80 000. In 2020 no spectators were allowed due to Covid, and in 2021 attendance was capped at 10 000.
Horse racing culture, notably the Melbourne Cup, has a long and rich heritage in Australia, with individuals attending races dressed in unique, entertaining, and trendy attire. The Melbourne Cup’s official attendance records have changed, with the most popular occasions drawing over 110,000 racehorse lovers through the gates.
The Melbourne Cup – The Attendances
In 2003, 122,736 individuals went through the doors of Flemington Racecourse, breaking the Melbourne Cup attendance record. While the accurate Flemington record for the 2006 Victoria Derby is over 130,000, the Melbourne Cup draws a large crowd yearly.
While Melbourne Cup Day is by far the most popular day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the four days together draw around 350,000 visitors each year. The Melbourne Cup attendance record was reached in 2003 when 122,736 people passed through the gates at Flemington Racecourse.
The Melbourne Cup – The Fashion
The Melbourne Cup is more than simply horse racing. While the Richest handicap horse race in the world draws bettors, trainers, and fans from all over the world, the Melbourne Cup’s fashion and culture are also critical aspects of this particular event. Indeed, one feature that distinguishes the Melbourne Cup is its trendsetting racegoers.
Melbourne Cup day is a significant draw in the city, with millions of people watching the race on television and listening to it on the radio. Women and men alike are lured to Flemington Racecourse in one-of-a-kind and extravagant ensembles, with the audience as much a part of the spectacle as the horses in the primary race.
The Melbourne Cup – Fashion in the ’60s to the Present
Since 1962, when flowers, fashion, and favourites were introduced to commemorate the centennial of the Melbourne Cup, style and elegance have played an important defining role on Melbourne Cup day. The Melbourne Cup has various specialised fashion events and contests, as well as several celebrities attending in an official or unofficial role.
MYER, racing fashion’s largest sponsor, hosts the Fashions on the Field competition, including the Millinery and Design Awards. The National Final brings together the finalists from regional contests, with each competitor’s attire rated on style, creativity, suitability, and exceptional attention to detail.
The Melbourne Cup – Headwear
Headwear is integral to Melbourne Cup attire for official competition contestants and the general audience. Women wear metallics, waist belts, and conventional creams with soft pastels in bright, vivid colours and patterns. Along with the official fashion contests, the Melbourne Cup organisers have recently launched the Emirates Stakes Day Fashions on the Field for youngsters aged six to seventeen, which adds to the spectacle and the allure of the younger generation.
The Melbourne Cup – Inaugural Prizes, Stakes and Trophies for the Winning Connections
The first Melbourne Cup winner in 1861 got a gold watch as a prize for winning the prestigious event. In 1865, the winning connections were presented with the first Melbourne Cup trophy, an elegant silver bowl on an English pedestal.
Wolf Blass, an Australian wine celebrity, currently owns this trophy on display at the Wolf Blass Gallery & Museum/Adelaide Hills Wine Bar in Hahndorf, South Australia. The National Museum of Australia presently houses the first existing and unmodified Melbourne Cup, which was presented to the owners of The Barb in 1866.
The Melbourne Cup – Prize Money for the Jockey, Trainer and Owner
The total prize pool is A$8,000,000, including trophies valued at $250,000. The winner receives $4.4 million, the second receives $1.1 million, the third receives $550,000, the fourth receives $350,000, the fifth receives $230,000, and the sixth through twelfth position each earns $160,000.
A new trophy is designed and presented to the successful owner each year. A second cup is provided in the event of a tie, with the present trophy being handcrafted out of 1.65 kilos of 18-carat gold. Since 1973, the winning trainer and rider have received a small copy of the Cup, and the strapper has been awarded the Tommy Woodcock Trophy, named after the strapper of legendary New Zealander Equine Superstar Phar Lap.
The Melbourne Cup – Everybody wants to Attend
The Melbourne Cup is not an ordinary race, and the Melbourne Cup Raceday is not an ordinary Race Meeting. Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday in Victoria, where it is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.
As Racegoers stream through the turnstiles on the first Tuesday of every November, the excitement and anticipation that precedes the Raceday are unprecedented, and that excitement does not only build in Australia but across the Globe. It is truly a race that captures the imagination of the race going public, no matter where they place their bet.
Attendances did dip in 2018 and 2019, and with no racegoers allowed on track in 2020 and attendances capped at 10000 in 2021, it has detracted somewhat from the spectacle. However, as we move into 2022, with fewer and fewer Covid restrictions being enforced, the buzz that is the Melbourne Cup 2022 is back, and the anticipation is already building.
A Horse Race that truly Stops a Nation.