The melbourne cup?

Question

why is the melbourne cup such a big event in australia?

there are horse races every other weekend, so it's not as if it is the only race of the year.

i don't understand the hype!

Answer 1

The Melbourne Cup has been run on the First Tuesday in November for 147 years. It is a Group 1 category handicap run over 3200 metres.

It is a huge event in Melbourne where the day is declared a public holiday. The rest of Australia stop work for 5 minutes to listen or watch the race.

The Cup is part of a 4 day carnival at Flemington Racecourse where crowds exceed 100,000 on each day but it is also the social aspect (fashion, grog, betting, grog, good food, grog) that grabs a lot of attention in the media.

Answer 2

The Melbourne Cup is the Pinnacle of the Spring racing Carnival here in Australia and for some people their only one time when they have a bet. People bet millions on the Cup every year. To the Racing fraternity the Cup is their Christmas.

Answer 3

Every racing nation has one race that everyone stops to watch.  In Australia it is the Melbourne Cup, in GB it is The Grand National and the Derby, in France it is The Arc and in the USA it is the Kentucky Derby.

Yes there is racing all the time - pretty much every day of the week in GB - but these races (in theory) attract the best horses and therefore are of most interest to people that do not follow racing on a day to day basis.

Answer 4

Just one of those things that everyone gets behind - like saying what's so special about christmas, it's special cause it always has been and everyone likes the excuse to dress up at work and have a little party. Also it's not very often you see your workmates in such a casual and fun environment but Melbourne cup day is a chance to get a little crazy at work - even the stern bosses get into it.