The 2010 Melbourne Cup will celebrate 150 years of the 'race that stops a nation' and this year the VRC will offer prize money of more than $6,000,000 with a special cup to commemorate the occasion.
The Melbourne Cup takes place on the first Tuesday in November each year at Flemington racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria, and is the richest handicap race in the world. A Group 1 event run over a distance of 3200 metres (2 miles), the Melbourne Cup is the most famous and recognised horse race in Australia.
More than just a horse race, Melbourne Cup day stops the nation and is a public holiday in the city of Melbourne. Crowds in excess of 100,000 descend on Flemington racecourse every year creating creating a carnival like atmosphere to mark the occasion. The whole country comes to a standstill around race time, which is 3pm, as a new Melbourne Cup winner etches his name into the history books.
Once a year punters are out in force at spring carnival time as people all around the country like to have a flutter on the Melbourne Cup, or try their luck at a Cup sweep, and the festival atmosphere and great days racing make for one of the biggest sporting events on the Australian calendar each year.
The Melbourne Cup has risen to great heights over the years and is now a highly rated international event that attracts high class stayers from around the world, with its race status and huge prizemoney making it an attractive proposition for northern hemisphere horses.
The jewel in the crown of the 2010 Melbourne spring racing carnival, the Melbourne Cup is the highlight of the Victoria Racing Club's annual four-day carnival in November.
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2010 Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington |
2010 AAMI Victoria Derby Day - Saturday October 30
Derby Day is widely recognised as one of the greatest days of racing anywhere in the world, with four Group 1 races, two Group 2 races and three Group 3 races on the card, including the 3yo classic, the AAMI Victoria Derby.
2010 Emirates Melbourne Cup Day - Tuesday November 2
Melbourne Cup Day, on the Tuesday, is the biggest day of the week long carnival at Flemington and it's the social event of the year in the city of Melbourne, with the highlight being the running of the Melbourne Cup at 3pm.
2010 Crown Oaks Day - Thursday November 4
Crown Oaks Day celebrates a day of fashion for the females and is known as 'Ladies Day', with the main race of the day being the Crown Oaks for fillies.
2010 Emirates Stakes Day - Saturday November 6
Emirates Day is the final day of the carnival and the focus is on families, with the day known as 'Family Day', with the Emirates Stakes the feature race of the day.
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2010 Melbourne Cup Day Program |
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| # |
Time |
Purse |
Race |
Distance |
Race Type |
| 1 |
10.20am |
$101,500 |
Agl Renewable Energy Stakes |
1000m |
2yo Fillies SW |
| 2 |
11.00am |
$101,500 |
Schiavello Plate |
1700m |
Mares Hcp |
| 3 |
11.45am |
$101,500 |
Lavazza A Modo Mio |
2800m |
0-95 Hcp |
| 4 |
12.30pm |
$151,500 |
Herald Sun Stakes |
1400m |
Mares Sw&P |
| 5 |
01.15pm |
$101,500 |
Schweppes Tonic 1000 |
1000m |
3yo Sw&P |
| 6 |
02.00pm |
$151,500 |
Lexus Hybrid Plate |
1400m |
3yo Fillies SW&P |
| 7 |
03.00pm |
$6,175,000 |
Emirates Melbourne Cup |
3200m |
Handicap |
| 8 |
03.50pm |
$151,500 |
Johnnie Walker Stakes |
1800m |
Handicap |
| 9 |
04.35pm |
$101,500 |
Mss Security Sprint |
1200m |
Handicap |
| 10 |
05.10pm |
$101,500 |
The Tab Big6 |
1400m |
4&5yo - 0-89 Hcp |
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The 2009 Melbourne Cup Carnival
An amazing 368,929 racing fans flocked to the four days of the 2009 Melbourne Cup carnival, with Derby day alone drawing 108,178 people to Flemington racecourse.
- 2009 Victoria Derby day crowd: 108,178
- 2009 Melbourne Cup day crowd: 102,161
- 2009 Crown Oaks day crowd: 80,112
- 2009 Emirates Stakes day crowd: 78,478
The 2009 Melbourne Cup result saw victory to the Mark Kavanagh trained Shocking who finished too strongly for international galloper Crime Scene, with another overseas horse Mourilyan third.
2010 Melbourne Cup 150th Year Commemorations
Throughout the 150th celebratory year for the Melbourne Cup, there will be a number of activities and events held across the globe to celebrate one of Australia's greatest sporting and cultural traditions.
A Royal Australian Mint coin and a stamp will be released to commemorate the occasion, plus a limited run of 150th memorabilia items and collectables will be available.
Melbourne Cup History
The Melbourne Cup was first run in 1861 and taken out by Archer who was trained by Etienne De Mestre. The Cup was held on a Thursday in its infancy and in
1869 the Victoria Racing Club introduced a four day spring racing carnival format.
In 1875 the Melbourne Cup was held for the first time on a Tuesday, and two years later a public holiday was declared for the first Tuesday in November.
Master trainer Bart Cummings has trained the most Melbourne Cup winners with 12, and Light Fingers gave him his first winner in 1965, while the ill fated Viewed was his last training triumph in 2008.
Sheila Laxon was the first woman to train the winner of the Melbourne Cup when her star mare Ethereal scored a brilliant victory in the 2001 Melbourne Cup.
Kingston Rule holds the the record for the quickest time to win the Cup when he ran 3 minutes 16.3 seconds in 1990.
The most successful winner of the Melbourne Cup is outstanding mare Makybe Diva who became the first galloper to win three Melbourne Cups, when she scored in consecutive years in 2003, 2004 & 2005. Glen Boss was the victorious jockey on each occasion and he became the first hoop to win three Melbourne Cups in a row.
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2010 Melbourne Cup Free Bet |
Want a $50 free bet on the Melbourne Cup?
We work very closely with our Bookmaking partner Centrebet and that means we can pass on to you a $50 free bet* for the 2010 Melbourne Cup. All you have to do is open a new account at Centrebet and simply deposit $50 or more. It's that simple!
As soon as you deposit $50 or more into your new betting account, Centrebet will then deposit $50 free credit straight into your account.
*Terms and Conditions apply and they can be found here.
