The Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major annual thoroughbred horse race, held at the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. It is one of the world's richest horse races. Nearly every person in Australia stops to watch or listen to this event, it is billed as 'The race that stops a nation'.
The Melbourne Cup is held by the Victoria Racing Club on the first Tuesday each November, at 3 p.m. The race is for three-year-olds and over, and covers a distance of 3200 meters. The start of the race is in the straight, 888 meters from the finish post. The runners race past the post and complete another lap (2312 m) after that.
The 2023 Melbourne Cup is to be held on Nov 7, 2023
Future race dates:
- 2023 - 7 November
- 2024- 5 November
- 2025 - 4 November
- 2026 - 3 November
Phar Lap winning the 1930 Melbourne Cup (more photos)History
Seventeen horses contested the first Melbourne Cup in 1861, watched by a crowd of 4000. The prize was a gold watch and 710 pounds. The winner of the first race, Archer, is said to have walked 800km to the course from Nowra, New South Wales. He also won the following year. The most famous winner of the race is the legendary horse Phar Lap, who won in 1930.
More Information
- List of Melbourne Cup Winners
- Prize Money History
- About the Melbourne Cup Trophy
- Melbourne Cup race Trivia and Firsts
- Melbourne Cup Last Place
- Photos from the Melbourne Cup
Related Pages
- Learn more about the sport of Horse Racing.
- Other Horse Racing Major Events
- Read about other major world sporting events.
- sporting events calendar
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