The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races. The event starts at 3:00 pm on the first Tuesday of November and is known locally as "the race that stops the nation".
The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres, that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late October. The race has a purse of A$5,000,000.
Damien Oliver is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. Oliver comes from a racing family; his father Ray Oliver had a successful career until his death in a race fall during the 1975 Kalgoorlie Cup in Western Australia. In 2008, Oliver was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In August 2023 he announced that he would retire at the end of that year's spring carnival.
James Bartholomew Cummings, also known by his initials J. B. Cummings, was one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He was known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as he won 'the race that stops a nation' a record twelve times. During his lifetime Cummings was considered an Australian cultural icon and an Australian National Living Treasure. His status as a racing icon in the 20th century was generally considered equivalent to that of Etienne L. de Mestre in the 19th century.
Kingston Town was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won three Cox Plates and 11 other Group One races and was the 1980 Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year.
Thomas John Smith was a leading trainer of thoroughbred racehorses based in Sydney, New South Wales.
Kingston Rule was an American-bred racehorse who raced in Australia, where he won the 1990 Melbourne Cup in a record time of 3:16:3. This time still stands as the record today.
David Lee Freedman is an Australian thoroughbred racehorse trainer. and Hall of Fame inductee. In partnership with brothers Anthony, Michael, and Richard, he has been a prolific winner of Australia's major races in past 20 years, with four Golden Slippers, four Caulfield Cups, two Cox Plates, and five Melbourne Cups, including two of the three won by Makybe Diva. On 19 June 2007 he won the prestigious King's Stand Stakes at the United Kingdom's Royal Ascot racecourse with his champion mare, Miss Andretti.
The Phantom was a Group One winning New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who made several trips to Australia, and completed a remarkable comeback later in his career.
The 2008 Melbourne Cup, the 148th running of Australia's most prestigious Thoroughbred horse race, was run on Tuesday, 4 November 2008, starting at 3:00 pm local time. It was won by Viewed.
Etienne Livingston de Mestre, was a 19th-century Australian breeder and jockey of Thoroughbred racehorses, De Mestre, was Australia's first outstanding racehorse trainer and racing identity. In his 30-year career he experienced all the highs and the lows of the turf in a career which ended with him dependent on donations from racing friends.
Rogan Josh was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse, who won the 1999 Melbourne Cup when ridden by John Marshall for the trainer Bart Cummings.
The 2013 Emirates Melbourne Cup was the 153rd running of the Melbourne Cup, Australia's most prestigious Thoroughbred horse race. The race, held on 5 November 2013, at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria, was won by Fiorente. The horse, owned by Andrew Roberts and Barry Pang, was bred in Ireland, trained in Australia by Gai Waterhouse, and ridden by jockey Damien Oliver. It was Oliver's third victory in the event, after previous wins in 1995 and 2002, and his first start after a ten-month ban for a betting offence. Waterhouse, the daughter of Tommy J. Smith, who trained winners in 1955 and 1981, became the first Australian woman to train a winner.
Cross Counter is a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2018 Melbourne Cup. After winning two minor races he was gelded before returning in the summer of 2018 to win two more races including the Gordon Stakes as well as finishing second in the Great Voltigeur Stakes and fourth in the King George V Stakes. In autumn he was sent to Australia and on 6 November he became the first British-trained horse to win the Melbourne Cup. In 2019 he won the Dubai Gold Cup and ran third in the Goodwood Cup. He failed to win in 2020 but finished third in the Ascot Gold Cup and the Henry II Stakes.
The 1965 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 2 November 1965. The race, run over 2 miles (3,218.7 m), at Flemington Racecourse.
The 1982 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 2 November 1982. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), at Flemington Racecourse.
Sonnyboyliston is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He made no impact as a two-year-old and was gelded before returning in 2020 to win three handicap races. He improved to become a top-class stayer as a four-year-old in 2021, winning the Martin Molony Stakes, Ebor Handicap and Irish St Leger.
The 1988 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 1 November 1988. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), at Flemington Racecourse.
The 1996 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 5 November 1996. The race was run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), at Flemington Racecourse.
