
A Short History Of The Melbourne Cup
First run in 1861 for a prize of a gold watch and £170 cash, the A$10million Lexus Melbourne Cup is one of the richest prizes in Australian sport, and the world’s richest handicap race run over 3200m. But it’s much more than just a horse race; it is a 165-year old social and cultural tradition that brings Australia, and to a lesser extent New Zealand, to a standstill. It's widely regarded as 'the race that stops a nation', because most people stop to watch the race at 5:00pm (NZT) on the first Tuesday of November every year. Here's a few…








