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The History of the Melbourne Cup
On radio they were asking “was there any other city in the world that turned a horse race into a public holiday?” Melbourne did way back in 1861 and continues to, the race that stops a nation, and now the world…
The Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is a Group 1, handicap horse race run over 3200 metres on the first Tuesday in November at 3.10pm.
Cup Day is also the ‘carnivale’ centrepiece of the four race-days of Cup Week, with race goers taking a festive approach to the day.
Just before the main race, the National Anthem is performed and for many Melburnian’s, Melbourne Cup Day is the penultimate sporting day of the year.
Melbourne Cup History
There’s a story that an English couple who had just emigrated to Australia wondered why Melbourne was such a quiet city, because there seemed to be nobody on the streets. They had arrived during the running of the Cup. This is probably just a good yarn, but there is some truth to it. Ever since the running of the first Cup, the race has been popular with the public. Melbourne gives itself a holiday on Cup Day (as hardly anyone is likely to turn up to work) and a strange, eerie quiet settles over the city while the race is being run.
The Melbourne Cup is rare among famous horse races for being a handicap event. This means that the best horses must carry not only their jockey, but extra weight in the form of lead bars in their saddle bags. Horses with a lesser chance of winning carry only their jockey. This has always been part of the Cup’s popularity because it means, in theory, every horse has an equal chance, so it’s possible for an unknown horse with a lightweight jockey to streak past the post and beat the favourite. It sits well with our national philosophy of giving the “little Aussie Battler a “fair go”.
Captain Frederick Charles Standish came to Australia as Assistant Commissioner to the goldfields in 1852. He later became Chief Commissioner of Police (1858 - 1880). It was thought Standish came up with the idea for a Melbourne Cup. If that’s true then he was involved in three significant events in Australia’s history: the Eureka Stockade, the first Melbourne Cup and the arrest of Ned Kelly.
The first Melbourne Cup was run on a Thursday, not a Tuesday as it is now. In 1861, fifty seven entrants were reduced to seventeen starters. The horses waited for the starter to drop a flag, which was the signal to start racing. A fixed barrier, where horses line up at the start, was introduced in 1925. Today’s “cage” system came later.
No trophy was awarded for that first Cup. Etienne de Mestre was presented with a hand-beaten gold watch and a cheque for 930 pounds. The second and third placegetters received nothing.
Horses that have won the Cup include 60 bays, 37 browns, 34 chestnuts, 5 greys, 5 bay/browns, 3 blacks and 2 brown/blacks.
Racehorses come from all over the world to race in the Cup. Overseas entrants travel by plane in luxurious quarters. It was far more risky taking them by ship to Melbourne. In September 1867, the City of Melbourne was hit by a gale, almost a cyclone, off Jervis Bay. On board were eleven racehorses traveling to the Cup; nine died.
Melbourne Cup Trivia
1. Big winners
The saddlecloth numbers four and 12 have won the Cup a record 11 times. In 2010, Zipping (4) and Harris Tweed (12).
2. Don’t drink and ride
Jockeys in Victoria must have blood-alcohol readings under 0.02.
3. The Phrase That Stops A Nation
The phrase The Race That Stops A Nation is a trademark of the Victoria Racing Club.
4. Name game
Three-time winner Makybe Diva takes the first two letters from the names of millionaire owner Tony Santicís employees Maureen, Kylie, Belinda, Diane and Vanessa.
5. Skirt the truth
British model Jean Shrimpton shocked Flemington by wearing a miniskirt in 1965. She also wore no gloves, hat or stockings. The scandal is often wrongly reported as having happened on Cup day. In fact it was Derby day, three days earlier.
6. Mine’s still running
In any given year, there are about 32,000 active racehorses in Australia. More than half of them have never won a race.
7. Everyone should know…
Phar Lap’s heart was 6.2kg. The average horse heart weighs 3.2 kg.
http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=3635
An abridged version from:
Blue Mountains Walk Sat 23rd July
On Saturday 23rd July is the APC bushwalk in the Blue Mountains. It’ll be cold but the sun is supposed to be out this weekend so it’ll be great for walking. Bring your camera, warm clothes, bottle of water and some picnic food. See Geoff or give him a call on his mobile: 0425 203 253. Meet at Central Station at 9am.
Blue Mountains - Saturday 18th June
Blue Mountains (Katoomba)
Saturday 18th June 2011
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny
Contact Geoff
0425 203 253
OKAY to bring a friend, the more the merrier.
No high heels please, as we are going to walk around.
Meet at Central Station Information Desk (ticket office) near platform 7 at 9am (train leaves exactly at 9.18am –one train every hour so don’t be late)
Ticket price is $10.80 return. There is an amazing parade there that day only.
Bring: Walking shoes, hat, camera, snack food (we always stop at a supermarket up there anyway though). Bush dance at 6.30pm is your chance.
Testimonial: English Unlimited
English Unlimited Testimonial by Dobi (from Korea):
I had always wanted to hang out with some friends who are from other countries. So I decided to study English to meet them and improve my English. When I went to agency, an agent recommended to me English Unlimited which is a new school, so I said ‘Yes, this is it’. I would say it was my best decision since I came to Australia. My first day at EU, I could feel that I would have a great time in there. Lau and Youngeun who were the manager at EU welcomed me and explained all facilities and introduced teachers to me.
Since my school life started, I had always had fun every single day. I had barbecue every Friday, excursions sometimes and we had a lot of parties! I felt my English was improving in class and when I hung out with my friends. I also never got bored in class because there were nice teachers Deon, Rufus and Shany who taught me and they helped me to enjoy class.
It was the best moment in my Australia life, I won’t forget it forever.
Thank you everyone! I miss you & keep in touch together!
English Unlimited Testimonial by Marius (from Germany):
Now it is almost 3 month ago since we have left Brisbane, our friends over there and especially EU. If I review my time now I definitely have to say that it was one of the most exciting times in my life. I met so many good friends with who I will hopefully stay in contact forever. I also learnt next to English and Business English a lot about myself.
The classroom situations were very productive, we simulated job interviews or phone class, we had role plays, talked about trade procedures and how to negotiate for example. The brand new campus and very modern facilities with projectors, laptops and Mac’s maintain a good environment for your studies.
With all the team of EU and I count the students to it, it felt a bit like a family replacement for me. During Christmas, the flood or just any other occasions like BBQs or bar visits we met each other and had great times.
Even if it wasn’t always easy because of the difficult job situation in Brisbane due to the flood or other financial difficulties, I’m happy about every moment I could enjoy - maybe especially because it wasn’t always easy and I had to find ways and solutions to solve the problems by my own. This gave me lots of experience for my whole life I reckon.
My time in EU was a very unique experience and I will always keep it in good memories. Thanks for the great time!!! You guys always helped and supported me!! And a special thanks to Deon who was my teacher. I haven’t met such a nice teacher like him before. I’m so glad that I’ve met him! Also a huge thanks to Lau and Youngeun who are the managers of this school. I really had a very nice time, I don’t regret in any way my decision to be part of this school and would do it exactly the same way again. Concluding I just can say that I recommend this school to everyone! Thank you so much for everything!!!!!
Marius
Part-time Jobs!!
We require people to hand out flyers in the city for our gym in Kent street. Please call Matt on 0412 799 799. Cash Paid.
Retail Courtyard, Lower Level, 201 Kent street Sydney (just next door to APC)
Internship Testimonials
The internship was a very nice time. We had so many good and important experiences which we would never get when we would only work in our country for those companies. We could see how work processes are working here in Australia, we had to communicate in a different language and we were in contact with people from all over the world.
We could see all different campuses like in Manly, Bondi Junction and the three campuses in the City. For a certain period of time, we were also part of almost every department, we got receptionist tasks and responsibilities, we could join several meetings like the marketing meeting every Tuesday and supported wherever we were needed.
In our opinion, we also got a lot of responsibility when we had to do the Data-Entry. We had to enter important information in the system during the enrolment period. It was very important to not make any mistakes.
We are also happy to have met so many nice people here in our time in APC. Everyone was very kind to us and we always enjoyed being around with our colleagues. We would say that we’ve met a lot of new friends.
We are so happy that we were able to be part of the company. Thanks to everyone we worked together with or who was responsible for us. Thanks for letting us see so many different things and the trust you gave us! We also would like to say a special thanks to Alex, who always supported us and who always had time to listen to our needs and feelings. It was a very nice time with all of you and we will miss you a lot! Thanks for everything!
Marius (Germany) and Dobi (Korea)
Don’t forget the excursion this Thursday 19th May to Watson’s Bay. All APC classes are going. Fingers crossed for beautiful weather! Remember:
