Melbourne Cup Trivia |
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The Melbourne Cup was first run on 7th November 1861 over a distance of two miles.The winner, Archer (6/1), there was 17 in the field. First prize was a gold watch and £170. Previous Winners His was the slowest winning time yet recorded for the race (3:52). The Cup was
first presented to a winner in 1916. Since 1875 the race has been run on the
first Tuesday in November.
The largest ever attendance was in 2003 when more than 122,736 people attended and saw Makybe Diva win the Melbourne Cup. In 1972 the race was converted to the metric distance of 3200 metres which is 18.69 metres or 61.30 feet short of two miles. The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous horse race and one of the major horse racing events throughout the world. The Melbourne Cup is known as The Race That Stops a Nation, taking place every year on the first Tuesday of November. Millions of Australians, in schools, at work, in their homes stand eyes glued to the television to watch a single horse race that lasts no more than a few minutes. What makes the Melbourne Cup different from other horse races is that it is not just about racing - it's the atmosphere and the fashion and the parties. Naturally the Melbourne Cup is also the biggest single betting event in Australia.
Find below other interesting Melbourne Cup trivia and facts about the great race.MELBOURNE CUP RACE RECORD:Kingston Rule 1990 - 3 minutes 16.3 seconds BIGGEST WINNING MARGINS: HIGHEST WINNING WEIGHT: LOWEST WINNING WEIGHT: HIGHEST WEIGHT CARRIED: Those most popular weight carried is 52.5kg with seven wins, followed by 53kgs and 49.5kgs with six wins each. AGE OF WINNERS: The last three-year-old to win the Cup was Skipton in 1941 SEX OF WINNER: SHORTEST PRICED FAVOURITE: SHORTEST PRICED WINNING FAVOURITES 70 Cup favourites have finished in the first three placings. The favourite has won 34 times. LONGEST PRICED WINNERS The longest priced winner in the last twenty years was Tawrrific in 1989 starting at 30/1. ODDS: DUAL WINNERS: SMALLEST FIELD: LARGEST FIELD: SUCCESSFUL JOCKEYS 4 WINS EACH: Harry White also holds a unique record of two Melbourne Cup doubles Clare Lindop was the first Australian female to ride in the Cup when unplaced on Debben in 2003. First (& only) Aboriginal jockey to win: Frank Reys (1973) on Gala Supreme JOCKEYS COLOURS: Navy blue and royal blue with 14 wins WINNERS OF THE CUP DOUBLES, MELBOURNE/CAULFIELD (11): WINNING BARRIERS: Since the barrier stalls were first used in the Cup in 1924, no horse has won the race from barrier 18. In that year (1924), the winner Backwood started from barrier 7. In the 77 years since, no other winner has started from it. MOST WINNING NUMBER: Makybe Diva winning in 2005 wearing no.1. The last horse carrying no.1 prior
to that was Rising Fast in 1954. TAB numbers 3, 6 and 8 have won eight of the last fifteen Cups. TAB numbers to win only two Cups are 7, 16, 18, and 23. Historically the best guides to the Melbourne Cup have been the Caulfield Cup and the Mackinnon Stakes. TRAINER WITH MOST WINS: Jim Cummings trained one Cup winner, Comic Court in 1950. In 1965 his son Bart trained his first Melbourne Cup winner, the four year old mare Light Fingers. He last won the race in 2008 with Viewed. Sheila Laxon was the first woman trainer to officially win the Melbourne Cup PRIZE MONEY: In 1985 the race reached $1 million dollars in prize money for the first time TAB DIVIDENDS: OTHER FACTS The 1910 Melbourne Cup was won by Comedy King, the first foreign bred horse to do so. Subsequent foreign bred horses to win Cup were Backwood 1924; Belldale Ball 1980; At Talaq 1986; Kingston Rule 1990; Vintage Crop 1993; Jeune 1994; Media Puzzle 2002; Makybe Diva 2003, 2004, 2005
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RESOURCES Horse Racing Tips
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