When Bart’s filly swooped down that long Flemington straight to claim the Group One fillies’ prize, no wonder the Oaks Day crowd stood and cheered, writes TP Maher: They’d taken the poisonous short odds quoted by those legalised vampires in the betting ring and they were happy.
Spring racing carnival
PHOTO GALLERY: The drunks, the bogans and the freaks of the Melbourne Cup
It’s the inevitable photo gallery after every Melbourne Cup, rubbish everywhere, passed out sunburnt men and drunken girls being carried by friends. Australians are a classy lot.
The Melbourne Cup: just a drunken school formal for grown ups
Bob Dumpling lets loose on the Melbourne Cup and the mess that happens on the other side of the track. No horses involved, just drunk D grade celebrities and fake charities funding the TAB. Time to grow up Australia.
The powerful myth of the Melbourne Cup
Yep, get all the clichés out, today is the race that stops a nation, the sport of kings. But the Melbourne Cup is also a strong example of the distinct Australian social classes, from the supermodels in the birdcage to the country horse lovers.
My tips for tomorrow: don’t drink and don’t bet
Getting ready for tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup? Then don’t follow TP Maher’s example, as he reflects on the drinking, gambling and also the horses from Saturday’s Derby Day.
Horse and jockey with T.P. Maher: thanks for the Memsie
On Saturday, Melbourne went head-to-head with Sydney for the start of their respective Spring racing carnivals. Rosehill had all the prize money but Caulfield had all the class.
Derby Day at Flemington: Spring without the Spivs!
This year, the Birdcage enclosure during Derby Day at Flemington will be devoid of some of the noxious species of racegoers known as the “wanker banker”, writes Mark Carmody.
The recession proof carnival
As the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival reaches its peak crowds, and betting turnover, on the Caulfield and Moonee Valley carnival days have been at near record levels, writes Jeff Wall.
The Cup carnival ends, the racing wars continue …
The Melbourne Cup Carnival ended on a high on Saturday with a record crowd of over 80,000 attending the Emirates Stakes Day. But the racing industry will not slip from the headlines thanks to an almost endless array of divisions that remain unresolved, writes Jeff Wall.
Cup carnival success masks an industry in crisis
Less than two months ago the running of the Melbourne Cup was far from certain as equine flu struck in NSW and Queensland, but a combination of good luck, and good management by Victorian authorities have delivered the Victorian racing industry the miracle it prayed for, writes Jeff Wall.
How Fashions on the Field suits Peter Jackson
Could Fashions on the Field — that Derby Day staple and the heart of fashion democracy — have been hijacked by corporates? wonders Jane Nethercote.
Cox Plate form stood up… but now we leap into the unknown
The Cox Plate on Saturday again proved to be a race for specialist thoroughbreds – with the winner El Segundo the best credentialed at weight for age, at the unique Moonee Valley track, and at the distance.
The Caulfield Cup: Steeped in history but a graveyard for certainties
The Caulfield Cup was first run in 1879 and for generations was second only to the Melbourne Cup in status – but in recent years it has proven to be something of a graveyard for certainties, and punters who are keen to back the favourite, writes Jeff Wall.
Caulfield Guineas Day feels the equine flu impact
Caulfield Guineas day is generally regarded as one of the best in the Spring Racing Carnival, but tomorrow’s program shows evidence of the impact of equine flu on fields in major races… an impact that is likely to grow in the weeks ahead , writes Jeff Wall.
Crikey’s Spring Carnival form guide: Turnbull Stakes day
After the relative certainty of Geelong’s triumph last weekend, it’s reassuring to know that those of us addicted to the culture of prediction are about to be lurched back into some serious head scratching, thanks to Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival.
Why do election campaigns tighten the purse strings?
Every retailer knows that an election campaign dampens retail spending, yet no-one can explain why this should be so, writes retail commentator Rob Lake.
The Melbourne Cup is on … for now
Will it, won’t it? Will equine flu find its way into Victoria, or will it stay away, letting the Spring Racing Carnival proceed as normal? Jeff Wall reports.
The equine flu ramifications may be very long term
The stark reality that the equine flu outbreak may have serious long term ramifications for the Australian racing industry is finally being realised by the industry’s stakeholders.
Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival: Clearly the world’s best
Any doubts that the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is the pre-eminent thoroughbred horse racing event in the World have been dispelled by the quality of the international nominations for this year’s carnival, writes Jeff Wall.
