Melbourne Cup
The first Tuesday in November sees the Melbourne Cup run at Flemington racecourse in the Victorian capital. It’s called “the race which stops a nation” and surely it is. Indeed, Melbourne has a public holiday and in much of the rest of Australia folks take the afternoon off. TVs are set up in offices, champagne brought out and chances in office sweepstakes sold.
Flemington attracts over one hundred thousand people on the day, many of whom miss seeing the race live as they watch proceedings from the many corporate marquees set up on its wide lawns. Hosts include major airlines, fashion houses and champagne makers. VVIPs roam from one silk-lined tent to another. Other lucky people get to visit just one. For the rest there are a host of ticket and seating choices. Drive there, catch a train or even arrive by helicopter should you wish.
It’s just not one race day, and certainly not only about racing. The Fashions on the Field event highlights what, for many ladies, has been an expensive time seeking out the latest design and hat to match. Polite gentlemen still wear morning suits, even though the race itself doesn’t happen until mid-afternoon. The fun goes on for over a week, culminating in the quaintly named “Ladies Day”.
This isn’t something new. The Cup’s been running since 1861 and, in 1897 the visiting Mark Twain had this to say: “The Melbourne Cup is the Australasian National Day. It would be difficult to overstate its importance. It overshadows all other holidays and specialized days of whatever sort in that congeries of colonies. Overshadows them? I might almost say it blots them out. Each of them gets attention, but not everybody’s; each of them evokes interest, but not everybody’s; each of them rouses enthusiasm, but not everybody’s; in each case a part of the attention, interest, and enthusiasm is a matter of habit and custom, and another part of it is official and perfunctory. Cup Day, and Cup Day only, commands an attention, an interest, and an enthusiasm which are universal — and spontaneous, not perfunctory. Cup Day is supreme it has no rival. I can call to mind no specialized annual day, in any country, which can be named by that large name–Supreme. I can call to mind no specialized annual day, in any country, whose approach fires the whole land with a conflagration of conversation and preparation and anticipation and jubilation. No day save this one; but this one does it.”This Tuesday (Nov. 6), 102,411 ticketholders saw the premier race, the Emirates Melbourne Cup, go to four-year-old thoroughbred Efficient (particularly sweet because the horse had to scratch last year). You might have missed it this year, but if you like fashion, fun or horses, try to include Cup Week in your 2008 visit Down Under.– Ross Hoddinott
Ross Hoddinott is a freelance writer and consultant based in Sydney.
