Melbourne Cup History 

Melbourne Cup 2012 Results - Order of finish:

Position	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Win	Place
1st	14. Green Moon (IRE)	Brett Prebble	Robert Hickmott	$20.80	$6.60
2nd	11. Fiorente (IRE)	James McDonald	Gai Waterhouse		$12.30
3rd	3. Jakkalberry (IRE)	Colm O'Donoghue	Marco Botti		$15.70
4th	24. Kelinni (IRE)	Glen Boss	Chris Waller

Melbourne Cup History and what it means Today

This year sees the 152nd running of the Melbourne Cup, a horse race that has a stronger foothold in popular Australian culture than any other sporting occasion.


Engraving of the 1881 Melbourne Cup

But the race's place in the fabric of Australia is rapidly changing from a famous sporting contest to a truly international experience. The Cup started life as a modestly prized handicap in front of a crowd of around 4,000 spectators with Archer the winner.

Legend has Archer walking 500 miles from Nowra to Melbourne to contest the first Melbourne Cup, though reports at the time reveal he travelled by steamer from Sydney to Melbourne.

This year, thoroughbred bluebloods from around the world will be flown to Melbourne and housed in virtual luxury in their bid to win the “race that stops a nation”.

Recent Trends

The Melbourne Cup has now firmed into an international, with Irish trainer Dermott Weld scoring two recent winners, Japanese horses running first and second (2006) and Dunaden/Americain fresh off back to back overseas 'raider' victories.

This year there will be unprecedented interest from foreign stables as they try to win the world's richest handicap race. The handicap conditions of the Melbourne Cup mean horses are allotted a weight to carry on the basis of their disclosed racetrack form.

In theory that means the best horses will always carry the most weight, as opposed to weight-for-age racing where horses are allocated a weight that is based on their sex and age, and not their career history.

Handicap conditions mean astute trainers will try and get their horse into the Melbourne Cup with as little weight as possible. However they often tread a tricky path as a horse placed too low in the ratings may be denied a start if higher weighted horses take all the places in the field.

Trainers

The history of the Melbourne Cup is littered with tales of astute trainers landing major betting plunges as they sneak their charges into the race with luxurious featherweights, but the arrival of high quality international horses means that the only way of gaining a start in the Melbourne Cup these days is to make sure a horse's form is good enough to earn a weight that guarantees a place in the final field.

Though the Melbourne Cup is now a global event with horses, trainers and jockeys from around the world arriving at Flemington to try and win the world famous event an Australian training legend is still the most successful Cup winner of all time. Bart Cummings has won an amazing 12 Cups since his first win in 1965 with Light Fingers and he'll be back this year for Flemington's famous race.

Betting Facts

For thousands of Australia's once a year punters, the easiest way to sort out the winner of the Melbourne Cup was to simply back a Bart Cummings runner.

However, recent trends are showing that imports (Horses bred overseas, but trained by Aussies) are also a good bet, as Peter G. Moody, Gai Waterhourse, Robert Hickmott and other astute trainers are stocking up on international stayers.

A fact that's evolved because of the recent success of Americain (USA) and Dunaden (FR), and this year's vintage crop of Imported Horses promises more of the same.

Increasing Prize Money and Popularity

This year's Melbourne Cup hopefuls race for a total prize of $6 million, but for many of the 100,000 plus race goers who flock to Flemington Racecourse the race takes second place. The Melbourne Cup is the social highlight for many in the crowd with fashions and celebrities battling head to head with the equine stars for headlines and prime time television spots.

With the Melbourne Cup attracting the largest viewing audience of any event in the country, the Cup is no longer just a horse race. Corporate advertisers use extravagant hosting marquees and international celebrities to entertain important clients and gain invaluable promotion. For many of the 100,000 people at Flemington this year for the Melbourne Cup it won't be about who wins the race, but it will be about who you see and who you are seen with. For the Melbourne Cup has moved on from being a simple horse race. It's now about big business, big brands and big promotional budgets.

But on the first Tuesday in November the safest bet is that the biggest brand in Australia will still be Bart Cummings as he strives for his 13th Melbourne Cup winner.