Races at the Cup of Melbourne
The first Cup of Melbourne was organized in November 1861. Then 17 horses participated in the races while the winner got 170 pounds and golden watches. Today the prize fund of Melbourne races makes up more than 6 million of Australian dollars. The main trophy, the Cup, contains 1.65 kilos of 18-carat gold and it is estimated in 125 thousand dollars.
The Cup of Melbourne is 3200 meters of the race where horses aged from 3 years old and more take part. The races are organized by Victoria Racing Club (the Club of Races from Victoria State). This is competition where the weight of jockey and equipment are regulated with the help of ballast while the horses have identifiers to give everybody the equal chances. The applications for the registration are usually given during the first week of August. The initial fee is 600 dollars for the horse. Then from 300-400 acclaimed horses 24 starters are chosen. The final cost of participation is 45375 dollars.
The spring carnival on the occasion of the horses (Spring Racing Carnival) is organized from September till the middle of November. It is full with the fun, fashion and buzz of races. The culmination of the celebrations is the famous Melbourne Cup which is organized in the first Tuesday of November and that makes the carnival fuss fade a bit. The spectators at the race track start gathering since 8 am, though the races itself begin at 3 pm. Till that time horse-course is full with more than 100 thousand people so as to watch one of the greatest shows in the country. In the meantime, 700 million Australians and spectators from all over the world look what happens on TV.
The center of all the carnival celebrations is Flemington Racecourse but the celebration includes also other horse-races of the state. One does not need to be an expert in the races so as to fall in love with this dynamic tradition the sense of which is in celebration of the return of sunny weather and spring coming to Melbourne.
The races visit is the true society ball where the townspeople and guests come being dressed on the appropriate occasion. That’s why the numerous screens of TV and photocameras are directed not only to the horse race but also at the visitors. The special attention is given to the bonnets and dresses.
In a couple of days after the races Oaks Day is organized along with Melbourne Cup. It is also called as ‘female day’ because during this holiday the fashionable dresses get much attention, and citizens of Melbourne traditionally make a splash in front of each other at the horse races.
On the last Saturday of the holidays even children get a chance to ‘look fantastic’ during this holiday in the course of Stakes Day. Being not official day of family, it locks the carnival dedicated to Melbourne Cup.
The quickest record is 3 minutes 16.3 seconds in 1990. It belongs to the horse Kingston Rule. The most titled winner is Makaibi Diva with victories in 2003, 2004, 2005.
