Tuesday, November 3rd, is a big day for Australians! The wildest and richest two-mile horse race in the world is held on Melbourne Cup Day in Australia.![]()
Melbourne Cup is a handicap contest for horses equal to 3 years old or older running over a distance of 3200 meters. The event is held by Victoria Racing Club at Flemington Racecourse on the first Tuesday in November annually.
Last year, the 154th running of Melbourne Cup, the first prize was given to Protectionist, which was ridden by Ryan Moore and trained by German Andreas Wöhler. Protectionist won the race by four lengths, becoming the first German-trained winner of the Melbourne Cup.
What kind of prize are the participants fighting for?
The total prize money for the 2015 race is $6,200,000. With trophies, the total value is $175,000. The top 10 horses that past the post receive prize, with the winner being paid $3.6 million, and tenth place $125,000. The money is distributed to the connections of each horse in the ratio of 85 percent to the owner, 10 percent to the trainer and 5 percent to the jockey.
Melbourne Cup later added additional $500,000 bonus for the horse owner of the winner who also won the group one Irish St. Leger that was run in the previous September.
The event sounds very exciting and fun. However, two horses’ death had caused as much attention in the news as for fashion and fun last year. Find out why and more details in the next blog!
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