A day at the races

Well today is Tuesday. Locally anyway. Infact, it's the first Tuesday of November, which also makes today Melbourne Cup day.

For those not knowing what the Melbourne Cup is, consider it along the lines of the Kentucky Derby. It's a very long running event, going back to 1861 (thank you wiki!) for horses over 3 years old. Originally a 2 mile run, it's been reduced by 61 odd feet to be 3,200 metres.

How big is this event? It's a public holiday in Melbourne and the ACT (Capital state for Australia), and nationwide schools and employers will have televisions set up so people can watch the race in class or at work. Even across the Ditch in New Zealand this is a fairly common practice.

But it's not just about the racing, oh no. Each year there is a rather large fashion contest, so expect lots of hats and dresses for the ladies, and a number of fetching tuxedos for the gents.

Alas though that this year has been marred. Earlier this year there was an equine flu outbreak in the country, meaning a large number of stables had to be closed, so participation is far lower than it would usually be. International horses are also fewer as a result. Transportation of horses in Australia is now heavily limited. While the Cup was always said to be going ahead regardless, it was certainly threatened by the outbreak.

Now, I'm fairly sure most people coming across this blog will have heard of Seabiscuit, if not from legend, then from the movie. What I'm less sure of is people knowing of Phar Lap. This horse is on that same kind of legendary pedestal with Seabiscuit. There's not a person in either country who doesn't know that name. He was so highly prized that his skeleton, heart and hide were preserved. The skeleton now resides in the Te Papa museum in Wellington, the hide in the Melbourne Museum, and the heart is in the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. I've been fortunate enough to have visited both Te Papa and the Melbourne Museum and seen the respective displays.

Phar Lap is still considered the most successful horse at the Melbourne Cup, despite the fact that a number of other horses have won more races, or run it faster. The legend of Phar Lap has helped push the regard of the Melbourne Cup even higher, but it's still a huge event on it's own ground.

When I lived in Fiji (1993-1995), I attended a horse race once. Well, long story short, my pick sucked. That trend has continued for every race I've seen. So anyone wanting to know my advice for a pick would do well to choose some other horse than mine. I no longer even bother as I'm so hopeless at it.

That said, it's to the races! Tally Ho!