Guide To The Melbourne Cup 2009

• Posted by: Editor
• On: 24/11/2008 15:54:32
• In: Australia Car Hire

The first Melbourne Cup Race Day was run in 1861, and since then it's usually held on the first Tuesday of November each year. The premier race event of the meeting is the Emirates Melbourne Cup race, which takes place at 3pm. It's hosted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.

The Flemington Racecourse encompasses an area of 1.27 square kilometres. Designed in a pear shaped fashion it has a six furlong race track! The total racing distance is approximately 3.2km. The venue can accommodate up to 120,000 spectators, which highlights the demand for such an exciting event as the Melbourne Cup!

The Racecourse has in total three impressive grandstands, one of which cost at total of $45 million to complete and was officially opened in 2000. The racecourse itself is one of the premier racing venues in the country, and is home to much of the most popular races in Australia, including the Victora Derby, the Australia Cup, the MacKinnon Stakes, Newmarket Handicap and of course, the Melbourne Cup!

Flemington Racecourse has its own railway line, which brings punters to the Railway Station located directly across from the racecourse. From Flinders Street you can hop on the train from platform 8 and 9. The venue is also serviced by shuttle buses from Epsom Road.

Find out more about Flemington Racecourse.

One of the most striking, recognizable and iconic features of the Flemington Racecourse is the huge bronze statue of Australia’s most famous racehorse Phar Lap, who won the Melbourne Cup in 1930. It's rumoured that he was tragically poisoned by rival gangsters who made huge gambling losses due to his unprecedented success.

Race details are not available as of yet for the 2009 Melbourne Cup, but it will certainly be one to remember if the 2008 events are anything to go by!

The Melbourne Cup Carnival’s main race, the Emirates Cup was contested on November 4th past, with the winning horse "Viewed" who won by a hairs breath in an exciting finale with "Bauer". The Jockey was Blake Shinn who won his first Melbourne Cup, and the horse was trained by Bart Cummings, the wily 61 year old trainer who is renowned as the "King of Australian Racing" – horses trained by Bart have won the Melbourne Cup a total of 12 times!

The 2008 Melbourne Cup main event race saw a total of 24 horses on the race card, although only 20 actually completed the race, and total prize money was $5.5 million Australian Dollars, with the winner receiving a cool $3.3 million dollars, plus the Emirates Gold Cup – a 9 carat antique gold trophy that has been presented to the winner since 1919, and which is worth over $120,000!

The winning trainer and jockey also receive miniature replica trophies for winning the race. The prestige and thrill of the Melbourne Cup day, attracts jockeys and trainers from all over the world. For example, in the 2008 race, Irish trainers Aidan O’Brien and Dermot Weld trained horses to compete for the lucrative prizes on offer. In fact, the turning point in the history of the Melbourne Cup in its coming of age as an international event, can be traced to 1993 when Weld trained "Vintage Crop" to the title.

No longer regarded as solely an Australian race, it attracted a host of international trainers and jockeys from Europe, American and Asia, and both the track and race distance provided a huge challenge to international racing!  Marketed as the "Melbourne Cup Carnival" the event is now sponsored by Emirates Airlines, a huge partner in the promotion of the event and increasing its prestige even further!

An extra motivation to the Melbourne Cup winner is the $500,000 racing bonus that is on offer if the winning horse wins both the Melbourne Cup and the Irish St.Leger at the Curragh Racecourse in Ireland in the same racing season. All in all, the race is now one of the major international sporting races.

The race itself is promoted as being the "Race that Halts the Nation" - highlighting its appeal to young and old, who like a flutter at the races! It's quite possibly the richest race in the world and the main point of the whole Melbourne Cup Carnival festivities. There are usually a total of ten races on the card for the Melbourne Cup Day with the first race as early as 10.20am and races ran up to 5.15pm, with the prestigious Emirates Cup race taking place at 3pm Melbourne time.

The following are the ten races on the card that took place this year for Melbourne Cup day:

Schiavello Stakes at 10.20am
Ritzenhoff Handicap at 11am
The Lavazza Long Black at 11.45
The Herald Sun Stakes at 12.30pm
The Sweppes Tonic 1000 Race at 1.15pm
The Lexus Stakes at 2pm
The Emirates Melbourne Cup Race at 3pm
The Cup Day plate at 3.50pm
The Blue Ribbon Foundation Race at 4.35pm
The Tab.Mobi Race at 5.15pm

You'll be astounded by the style and fashion stakes at the Melbourne Cup. Since the late Princess Diana attended the race in 1985, there has been a "Fashion of the Field" event, with many prizes being awarded to the best dressed male and female race attenders! Elegant and beautiful hats, suits and dresses are the order of the day.

The Australian media heavily cover the latest styles worn by attendees, and the dress sense is becoming almost as important as the race itself! It's a great day out to mingle with the excited crowds and see the latest fashions and you never know what celebrities you might bump into!

Flowers are an important symbol of the whole Melbourne Cup Festival, and the Flemington Racecourse has many rose gardens within its spacious surroundings. The symbol of the Melbourne Cup is the yellow rose, so be sure to buy one and wear it on your suit jacket lapels or your elegant dress!

Since as far back as 1877, the Melbourne urban area has recognized the Melbourne Cup Race Cup Day as a Public holiday, where the area comes to a standstill in its enjoyment of the race day. Television audiences are huge for the event, and there are many workplace betting sweeps and direct betting taking place. In fact it was once estimated that almost 80% of Australian adults have a flutter on the races the day of the Melbourne Cup!

So, if you're thinking of travelling to Melbourne in 2009 for the prestigious Melbourne Cup, why not book car hire Melbourne through Nova, with instant confirmation on your car hire reservation.

Maybe you've been to the Melbourne Cup in the past - we'd love to hear from you if you have. Drop us a line in the comment box below.