Tag: melbourne cup

More than 80,000 punters descended on the Flemington Racecourse for the running of the 2023 Melbourne Cup — the 163rd iteration of the historic race.

Racegoers were on the edges of their seats as Mark Zahra made history as the first jockey in decades to ride back-to-back Cup winners, when he steered Irish horse Without A Fight to victory. 

The horse was trained by father-and-son duo Anthony and Sam Freedman.

Three horses were found to be lame after the race sparking concern from RSPCA Victoria. 

There was a chance of rain late in the day but it held off, with punters enjoying warm spring weather with temperatures in the low 30s.

The attendance figure for today’s event wound up exceeding 84,000, according to Network 10. At last year’s Melbourne Cup — the coldest event since 1913, with the day’s temperature reaching a high of 13.3 degrees Celcius — numbers were just shy of 74,000.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protests near the racecourse led to temporary traffic disruptions near Flemington and multiple arrests, according to police.

Earlier, attendees gathered bright and early outside the gates at Flemington in scenes reminiscent of the Boxing Day sales.

Jeremy De Souza was in line early to beat the long queues outside the racecourse gates and secure a coveted shaded spot in the new grandstands.

“Got here about 6:30am, so two hours before to stand here and ready for the run in a couple minutes time,” he said.

“It’s very much like the horses going out of the gates here today.”

Laura Minahan brought a change of clothes in preparation for the mad dash for the members bar.

“This is the race before the race, so got the flats on with the heels in the bag and a different hat,” Ms Minahan said.

“So hopefully fingers crossed, we get somewhere inside.”

Brett Adams and Mark Secombe embarked on a road trip down from Queensland to back Cup favourite Gold Trip.

Their gold jackets were showing their support for the 7-year-old stallion, but there was some concern they might be a little too eye-catching.

“I’ve got to stay out of view of the horses, it might put them off,” Mr Adams said.

Paul Friend travelled from Dunedoo in New South Wales to attend this year’s Cup, and said he had been attending, on and off, for 25 years.

He said he was willing to step in for the real jockeys if it was an emergency.

“If there’s a scratching and one of the top jockeys can’t make it, I’m on standby just near the mounting yards, so come on down and I’ll throw the leg over,” he said.

“The horse will still be coming before the next race starts.”

Melbourne’s temperature hit 30.6 which was good news for Victoria Racing Club members who were allowed to wear tailored shorts to the event for the first time.

Protest disrupts traffic near Flemington

The Melbourne Cup coincides with legal reforms that came into effect today to decriminalise public drunkenness in Victoria.

The timing has previously been criticised by groups including the Victorian Police Association, with secretary Wayne Gatt expressing concern the change would leave police with little power to act.

The government has set up a sobering centre in Collingwood with 20 beds for emergency services to place people who require a place to sober up.

Meanwhile two separate protests have taken place near Flemington, including both a small group opposed to horseracing and about 100 pro-Palestinian protesters who have clashed with police.

Police said the cohort of pro-Palestinian protesters arrived at the Epsom Road, Ascot Vale Road and Racecourse Road roundabout at Ascot Vale about 11am, resulting in traffic disruptions near the Flemington Racecourse in the hours before the running of the Cup.

Two protesters, including a woman who climbed onto the roof of a white van and refused to get down, were pepper-sprayed and arrested, according to police.

Police said there were about 80 protesters at the scene, and they arranged for the van to be towed away.

Another, smaller protest against horseracing gathered at the nearby Footscray Park Bowling Club this morning, with a group of about 10 people using placards, chants and a large banner laid out on the green to make their voices heard.

Three lame horses spark RSPCA concern

Right You Are, a seven-year-old Australian gelding, struggled in the heat and failed to finish the race.

It was seen being hosed off with cold water after the race.  

A seven-year-old stallion from France, Gold Trip, and a six-year-old gelding Alenquer were also found to be lame. 

Racing Victoria said all runners in the Melbourne Cup were assessed immediately after the race by vets who “reported that no significant findings were detected at that time”.

“The veterinarians continued to monitor the runners as they cooled down following the race,” it said in a statement.

“It was upon re-examination that Gold Trip, Alenquer and Right You Are were reported to have shown a degree of lameness once they had cooled down from competing.”

Racing Victoria said none of the horses required a referral to a veterinary clinic.

“All three have returned to their respective stables and, as in routine, will be assessed by their stable veterinarians in the coming days.” 

But RSPCA Victoria said it was “very concerned” about the number of injured horses. 

“We obviously expect the industry to make sure there’s a thorough investigation into what led up to this and what could be done to prevent it happening in future,” CEO Liz Walker said. 

“It does highlight that injuries are a real risk in horse racing.”