The Melbourne Cup Approaches

We interrupt the ongoing “How I Spent My Autumn Vacation” report to give you a heads-up on a big upcoming international race.

Video of the 2008 Melbourne Cup (it’s a close one)

Move over, Monday night football. The Melbourne Cup will be on TV in the US.

Go ahead and laugh. But you won’t when you see the money involved. The Melbourne Cup offers one of the richest purses in racing. Check it out.

Last year’s total purse was AUD$5.5 million, which converts at this writing to US$4.95 million. The top ten finishers finish in the money, as opposed to the top three on this side of the Pacific. And the winner still gets AUD$3.3 million, which coverts to a still pretty darn cool $2.97 mil in US money. (Source: Coinmill.com)

Still wanna watch Monday Night Football now? Fine. Whatever.

But if you’re even a little bit more interested now in The Race That Stops a Nation — yes,  the Australians really do call it that — keep reading. Because it’s not just a horse race over there.

It has a lot in common with the beloved Kentucky Derby.

When to watch in the US on Monday night

According to Blood Horse website, the Melbourne Cup will air here in the states Monday night Nov. 2 at 9:30 pm EST. As always, check your local listings for your correct local time. And your mileage will vary.

And you may or may not need to know that the race actually runs Tuesday afternoon in Australia, thanks to the International Date Line.

Another option is that HRTV offers a subscription service for Internet broadband viewing of its TV stream. It’s by paid subscription and they’re offering a sale on an annual subscription until the end of the year.

About The Melbourne Cup race

The Melbourne Cup runs the first Tuesday in November and is for 3-year-olds and older. The race is 3,200 meters long, about 2 miles. (Yes, you read that right – two miles.)

And I’ll say it again: it’ s the most famous race you’ve never heard of, especially if you live in the States.

The Belmont Stakes, the final race in the American Triple Crown, is 1-1/2 miles long.

If you follow American racing, you know that the stretch run in the Belmont is long and arduous. The Melbourne Cup is 1/2 mile longer.

If you watched the race video, you’ll have noticed how the jockeys rise up in the irons during the race, probably to slow the horses down and conserve their energy for that final stretch battle.

Comments and perspectives

As of this writing, last year’s winning trainer, 81-year-old Bart Cummings has two possible starters for the Melbourne Cup as he tries for his 13th win. Cummings has won the race more often than any other trainer. Also, his last year’s winning horse Viewed is reportedly back for a try for a second win.

Successive multiple wins of the Melbourne Cup by the same horse aren’t unprecedented. From 2003-5, the now-retired mighty mare Makybe Diva won three times in a row. If you clicked on that link, you know that “Diva,” more casually known as “Mum,” even has a website for her fans.

Remember, it’s a two mile race. And she won it three years in a row.

To add a bit of perspective to this kind of dominance, the undefeated-in-13-starts  North American mare Zenyatta will face her first start against male horses in this year’s Breeder’s Cup Classic. And the popular filly Rachel Alexandra whupped older male horses in this summer’s Woodward Stakes.

But the horse that seems to have captured Australia’s imagination this year is the relatively new runner Alcopop. As of this writing, he’s running on slightly better odds than last year’s winner Viewed. Alcopop is the son of 1994 Melbourne Cup winner Jeune.

A spectator at the Melbourne Cup/Photo by Synyan via Wikipedia Commons

An Australian Rite of Spring

The Melbourne Cup may be longer than the Belmont, but its vibe seems to be more like that of the Kentucky Derby.

Part international sports competition, part highlight of the social calendar and part rite of spring, the race draws massive crowds. And it’s also known as “the race that stops a nation.”

Anyway, the Flemington Racecourse on Melbourne Cup Day is also a place to see and be seen. The hat in the photo above is lovely — yes, Darla the charming hat historian at Many Hatty Returns: this one’s for you, my friend — but check out this slide show from the Brisbane Herald Sun of more dramatic outfits for both men and women.

I see so many connections between the Melbourne Cup and the Kentucky Derby that I can’t help but be fascinated by it.

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Tags: Alcopop, Bart Cummings, HRTV broadband, Makybe Diva, Melbourne Cup, Melbourne Cup coverage, Melbourne Cup fashions, US Melbourne Cup coverage, Viewed