Melbourne Cup
Scheduled: November 4, 2008
This particular Horse Race is known as the most prominent “two-mile” horse race in the world and in Australia where it takes place it is considered the most popular race.
The Melbourne cup takes place the first Tuesday every November and welcomes horses of three years of age and older which will run on a race track distance of 3.200 meters.
The first year the race took place was in 1861 and the current record is the 1990 winner Kingston Rule with a time of 3min 16.3sec,
Over the years, the event opened to foreign participants especially during the last decade.
The race offers the traditional trophy (since 1919), which is a three-handled gold loving cup worth $80,000 and prize money of AUD$5 million (about USD$4.4 million).
Records
Most wins:
3 - Makybe Diva (2003, 2004, 2005)
2 - Archer (1861, 1862)
2 - Peter Pan (1932, 1934)
2 - Rain Lover (1968, 1969)
2 - Think Big (1974, 1975)
Most wins by an owner:
4 - Etienne L. de Mestre (1861, 1862, 1867, 1878)
4 - John Tait (1866, 1868, 1871, 1872)
4 - Dato TAn Chin Nam (1974, 1975, 1996, 2008)
Most wins by a jockey:
4 - Bobby Lewis (1902, 1915, 1919, 1927)
4 - Harry White (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979)
Most wins by a trainer:
12 - Bart Cummings (1965, 1966, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2008)
5 - Etienne L. de Mestre (1861, 1862, 1867, 1877, 1878)
5 - Lee Freedman (1989, 1992, 1995, 2004, 2005)