Huge Bonuses Of Up To 155%! - Join Now!

Melbourne Cup History

Australians certainly love their leisure. They also worship sport. Though renowned for their egalitarianism, they are fond of "the sport of kings", and one race every year stops the entire nation from working. Even if they are not actually present - instead glued to their television screens or their transistor radios - Australians all over the country, of every age and from every walk of life, follow the horses running in Melbourne Cup.

Melbourne Cup Day is fixed for the first Tuesday in November. The race is recognised as one of the World 's greatest handicap races. It is held at Flemington, a Melbourne suburb which is called after a butcher who once lived there.

The first Cup was run in 1861. There were 17 starters and, paradoxically, the prize - apart from the money (170 pounds ) - was not a cup at all , but a hand - beaten gold watch . Archer, the Winning horse, had walked to Melbourne from its stable in Nowra, New South Wales, a distance of 500 miles (800km).