The Melbourne Cup is a Group 1 race run under Handicap conditions for open class stayers at Flemington conducted by the Victoria Racing Club.
The Melbourne Cup is run over 3200m. It was first run in 1861 and was won by Archer who would win the first two Cups.
The race has always been at two miles (3200m).
The Melbourne Cup was a Principal Race until 1979 then Group 1.
The most famous names of the Melbourne Cup are Phar Lap who won in 1930 and was an all-time great, Bart Cummings who won 12 Cups (7 more than anyone else) and Makybe Diva who became the only horse in the history of the race to win three of them.
Bobby Lewis and Harry White won four Melbourne Cups as jockeys while Etienne De Mestre and Lee Freedman have five Cups as well as trainers.
Lloyd Williams is the most successful owner with seven victories – Twilight Payment the most recent.
Besides Makybe Diva, Think Big along with Rain Lover, Peter Pan and Archer are the only horses to win more than one Cup.
Kingston Rule holds the race record at 3:16.30.
Shadow King ran in six Melbourne Cups from 1929 with numerous placings. Prince Of Arran placed his three attempts.
Dunaden defeated Red Cadeaux by the smallest margin in history taking 3 minutes to decide the photo.
There have been four 100-1 shots win as the biggest price. The most recent was only 2015 with Prince Of Penzance.
Eleven horses have done the Caulfield Cup/Melbourne Cup double – Ethereal, Might And Power, Doriemus, Let's Elope, Gurner's Lane, Galilee, Even Stevens, Rising Fast, Rivette, The Trump and Poseidon.
Last Southern Hemisphere 3yo winner was Skipton in 1941. Rekindling was a Northern Hemisphere 3yo in 2017 and so was Cross Counter in 2018.
While mares have won 13 times, the most recent was Makybe Diva in 2005. They won five times from 1988 to 2005 but before that Light Fingers was 1965.
History was made at Flemington in 2015 when Prince Of Penzance won making Michelle Payne the first female jockey to win the race.
In 2001 Shiela Laxon was the first woman to 'officially' train the winner when Ethereal scored a big win. Catalogue was forced to be raced under the name of the husband of its trainer A McDonald. Gai Waterhouse has done it since with Fiorente.
Dermot Weld changed the race forever winning the 1993 Cup with Irish stayer Vintage Crop. He would win it again in 2002 with Media Puzzle under emotional circumstances after jockey Damien Oliver rode the race despite his brother dying within the week prior.
Other internationals to win since then have been Delta Blues for Japan, Americain and Dunaden for France, Protectionist for Germany, Rekindling and Twilight Payment for Ireland and Cross Counter for England.
In fact Ireland trifectad the race in 2017 with Joseph O'Brien, Aidan O'Brien and Willie Mullins taking the main spoils. There was one Australian trained horse home in the first seven. Then the English trifectad in 2018.
Godolphin finally broke their duck in that Cup when Charlie Appleby had Cross Counter win in 2018. That horse would win the Dubai Gold Cup four months later.
The 2019 Cup was notable for many things including Craig Williams, on Vow And Declare, joining the select group of riders to win the grand slam of Aussie G1s. It also included the first upheld protest for a placing as Master Of Reality was relegated behind both Prince Of Arran and Il Paradiso.
The Melbourne Cup was worth $7,750,000 in 2020.
Notable winners of the Melbourne Cup include Cross Counter (2018), Almandin (2016), Prince Of Penzance (2015), Protectionist (2014), Americain (2010), Delta Blues (2006), Makybe Diva (2003/2004/2005), Media Puzzle (2002), Might And Power (1997), Saintly (1996), Vintage Crop (1993), Kiwi (1983), Think Big (1974/1975), Rain Lover (1968/1969), Galilee (1966), Light Fingers (1965), Evening Peal (1956), Rising Fast (1954), Comic Court (1950), Peter Pan (1932/1934), Phar Lap (1930), Poseidon (1906), Carbine (1890), Malua (1884), Grand Flaneur (1880), The Barb (1866) and Archer (1861/1862).
The 2020 Melbourne Cup was won by Twilight Payment from Tiger Moth and Prince Of Arran.