Local: Fri
Sydney: Fri
Select Destination
Location Time Temp
Sydney Fri20°
Melbourne Fri19°
Brisbane Fri21°
Perth Fri22°
Adelaide Fri
Hobart Fri16°
Canberra Fri20°
Darwin Fri27°

news

Get our help FREE advice or find service providers with our bookJobs Now

Melbourne Cup is world’s richest

14 July 2015 by News Desk

sport_melbourne-cupThe annual Melbourne Cup horse race is the richest in the world with $6.2 million in prize money at stake.

The Emirates Melbourne Cup is a handicap which features a maximum of 24 runners. The richest handicap run anywhere in the world, there is fierce competition for one of 24 places in the final field.

The VRC, in consultation with Racing Victoria, has ultimate choice about the make-up of the field, but these spots are usually determined by two factors: the weight a horse is allotted to carry in the race by handicappers and whether that horse has won a ballot-free race in the lead-up.

All horses must be entered for the Melbourne Cup by Tuesday September 1 (in 2015), then Racing Victoria assess each entrant for a handicap and release this by Tuesday September 15. As with all handicaps, in general a horse with the best form/success will attract a higher weight and emerging horses with lesser form will attract a lower weight.

International ratings play a role in shaping these weights as well as the age and gender of the horse. There is no set maximum weight a horse can receive, but the minimum weight is 50kg.

While the initial release of weights determines a rough ranking of horses according to ability, the ballot order, which is the entry ranking for the race, is determined by two factors. They are: 1) Whether the horse previously delivered a race performance which qualifies it for the Melbourne Cup (passing the ballot clause); and 2) The weight it has been allotted in relation to the weight it would be given in a weight-for-age race.

For a horse to have passed the ballot clause for the Melbourne Cup, it must have achieved at least one of 11 key criteria involving its placing in international racing events. A ballot order doesn’t simply go in weighted order. Once a horse has passed the ballot clause, then it gets ranked according to its allotted weight measured against what it would carry in a weight-for-age race over that same distance. This allows horses in the same age and gender bracket to be ranked according to their ability (weight), but ensures diversity in the make-up of the field by allowing for the highest-weighted horses in each of the different age and gender brackets to feature.

Final acceptances for the Melbourne Cup are taken around 5pm on the Saturday before the Cup (Derby Day). Ballot order is used to determine who makes the field, but the VRC committee, in consultation with Racing Victoria, have final discretion. The field is confirmed and the barriers are drawn that evening, usually around 6:30pm.

The pari-mutuel rule only allows for a maximum 24 runners in any Australian horse race, so the field size is restricted.



We use cookies on Thinking Australia

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Please confirm permission to use cookies.
Cookie Policy Privacy policy