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Despite chilly overnight temperatures, tens of thousands of racers made their way to Flemington Racecourse to kick off the most exciting three minutes in Australian sport, the 162nd running of the Melbourne Cup.
When the gates opened at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, fans gathered around the tracks, in the many grandstands, in the Park’s expansive and renovated area for music, food and fashion, and in the exclusive Birdcage Enclosure.
Sporting fascinators and ties and clutching umbrellas, crowds gathered in brightly colored frocks and tailored suits to watch the race that stops the nation.
With temperatures set to drop back to 11 degrees, the Bureau of Meteorology warned it could mark the coldest Cup day in almost 30 years
There was almost as much action outside the gates of Flemington as animal rights campaigners turned heads with bold signs calling for an end to the “archaic” sport.
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses called on people to say “Nup to Cup”, saying 139 racehorses died on Australian tracks in the last racing year.
In an unrelated incident, footage emerged of an unidentified person allegedly entering the racecourse ahead of the Melbourne Cup.
A video published on social networks appears to show the alleged culprit pouring oil on the track to protest the “toxic” racing industry.
Victoria Police are investigating.
From 11.30am it was all about racing, fashion and weather.
The rain came in sideways, the umbrellas came out – drenching the lawns and the track but not the spirit of the day, with crowds eager to return after a two-year hiatus.
The 10-race card kicked off with the Group 3 Darley Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) for two-year-olds and the Group 3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m) for mares, plus the popular Subzero Handicap (1400m), a restricted horse race gray and won by Love Tap (trained by Will Freedman).
With an expected crowd of 80,000, the centerpiece of the whole Cup carnival is the $8 million Melbourne Cup run over 3,200 metres, scheduled for 3pm (AEDT).
Delta Goodrem and Ariarne Titmus were on the ground as Cup ambassadors, cricket legend Brian Lara and long-distance runner Nedd Brockman were spotted inside the Birdcage and Cody Simpson was preparing to sing the national anthem.
“This year, everyone is together again … to be able to watch the race that stops a nation,” Goodrem told host broadcaster Network Ten.
Added Simpson, who gets nerves before a big race as much as singing live: “I came back to Australia last year so it’s a timely thing and the first time I’ve ever sung the national anthem in front of everyone. “
As Myer Fashions on the Field celebrated its 60th anniversary, the best dressed and fittest took to the stage in the so-called Fashion Garden before the final judging at 1.40pm.
Carnival judges and ambassadors included Christian Wilkins, Demi Brereton and Aaron Mitchell and Tayla Damir and Tim Kano.
Supermodel Adut Akech and racing heiress Kate Waterhouse led the star arrivals inside the exclusive Birdcage enclosure.
Before the Cup, the Welcome to Country was delivered by Uncle Colin Hunter before Melbourne Cup Carnival Ambassador and Olympic Champion Ariarne Titmus passed the $275,000 Melbourne Cup trophy into the paddock and into the hands of the chairman of the Victoria Racing Club ( VRC), Neil Wilson.
Legendary Scottish-Australian musician Colin Hay, frontman of Men at Work, performed a special rendition of their classic hit, Down under.
22 riders, flag bearers and owners stood by as Simpson performed the national anthem.
The race after the Lexus Melbourne Cup was named after the late Queen (In Memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II over 1400m).
Let’s take a look at how the day went.
