Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Horse Racing
The roses are in bloom, the city's aflutter, and the nerves of milliners, fashion retailers, dry
cleaners, beauty therapists and caterers are beyond frayed. It's Spring Racing Carnival time
in Melbourne.
The two-mile (3.2km) Melbourne Cup has been run on the first Tuesday in November at
Flemington Racecourse since 1861. Watched by 700 million people in more than 170 coun-
tries, the Cup brings the whole of Australia to a standstill for its three-or-so minutes, and
Melburnians have the day off as a public holiday. Once-a-year gamblers organise Cup syn-
dicates with friends, and gather to watch the race from pubs, clubs, TAB betting shops and
backyard barbecues. Punters, partiers, celebrities and the fashion-conscious (who spend an
estimated $54.5 million on clothes and accessories for the event) pack the grandstands, car
parks, lawns and marquees of Flemington.
The Cup's heady social whirl gets even headier at Derby Day and Oaks Day, which are
considered more glamorous events than the Cup itself, while serious racegoers bet their
way through the Cox Plate, the Caulfield Cup, the Dalgety, and the Mackinnon Stakes, too.
Melbourne's favourite runs include the 4km 'Tan' track (around the Royal Botanic Gardens), the 5km path
around Albert Park Lake and the sweeping paths of Fitzroy Gardens. The bicycle tracks beside the Yarra
River and along the bay also see a lot of well-trained traffic.
