Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The Melbourne Cap




The Melbourne Cup was born following the quest of the Victoria Turf Club to put on a "good handicap" which would rival its counterpart, the Victoria Jockey Club. While 1860s racing administrators were enthusiastic and visionary in many ways, not in their wildest dreams would they have thought the Cup would become what we know it today - the greatest 3200 metre handicap horse-race in the world. And the Melbourne cap strated on 6/11/2007 in Melbourne.

In just over 24 hours, of course, that race that stops the nation will be under way. Up to 120,000 people, apparently, are getting ready to attend this year's Melbourne Cup and the organisers say it's probably going to be the biggest crowd in the race's 140-year history. Again this year, of course, a large contingent of international horses competing, the highly-fancied Far Cry and Arctic Owl amongst them.

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