Phar Lap’s famous 1930 Melbourne Cup victory united Australia and New Zealand in celebration. Almost a century on, people still flock to visit his remains, on display at three different museums.
For years, we’ve taken major sporting events, a public holiday, added alcohol and gambling, then watched domestic violence rates rise. It’s time we did something different.
Racing industries put enormous effort into procuring the best young horses, but pay little attention to the fate of former (or simply unsuccessful) racers.
Racing to the finish at the Melbourne Cup in 2017.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
It’s not only fans that dress up on Melbourne Cup Day. There is plenty of gear racehorses can wear, from blinkers to nose bands, ear plugs and even a tail chain. But do they do any good?
Horse racing is enjoyed by many people, employs thousands of people but there are some concerns over the welfare of the horses.
Shutterstock/Vladimir Hodac
Horse racing is enjoyed by millions of people but there are others who have concerns over animal welfare. A social license to operate may help keep all sides happy.
Jockey Michelle Payne rides Prince of Penzance to victory in the 2015 Melbourne Cup.
AAP/Julian Smith
We all know about Phar Lap, but what about the remarkable story of Walter Craig on Nimblefoot, or the market gardener who always knew when Poseidon would win?
Now you can watch the race on Twitter.
Flickr/Jupiter Firelyte
As we celebrate the Melbourne Cup today, it’s worth taking a look at the way we nourish our champions of the turf.
Whipping race horses inflicts pain but is exempt from animal welfare laws. Yet research suggests it does not increase their pace at the finish.
Amethyst Photography
Beating and overriding a horse is deemed cruel under Victoria’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986. You would never guess that from a day at the races, including Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival…
Admire Rakti finished the race last, but died in his stall soon afterwards.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
The tragic deaths of the favourite Admire Rakti and seventh placegetter Araldo soon after the Melbourne Cup has focused attention on some of the risks involved in racing horses. The Japanese horse Admire…
The unicorn is an icon of our contemporary love affair with escapism.
Rob Boudon
This is not an article about unicorns or virgins, but about the power of imagination, both wonderful and terrible. As an academic and equine artist I work between creative imagination and scientific epistemology…
Damien Oliver (left) rides Fiorente to victory in Race 7 the Emirates Melbourne Cup at the 2013 Melbourne Cup.
AAP Image/Hamish Blair
If you’re looking for a definitive answer on who will win the Melbourne Cup – the world’s most prestigious two-mile handicap – I’m afraid I’m going to leave you sorely disappointed. What I can offer is…
Trainer Gai Waterhouse with 2013 Melbourne Cup winning horse Fiorente.
AAP/Julian Smith
It’s the race that stops a nation … and is worth a cool A$6.2 million. So what goes into the raceday preparation for the equine stars of the show? Thoroughbred racehorses have unique anatomy and physiology…
Study the form guide all you like – on big race days, your money’s probably safer in your pocket.
AAP/Joe Castro
Australia’s iconic sporting event – the Melbourne Cup – will see more than 100,000 punters pack into Flemington Racecourse this Tuesday, while those at work around the country pause to tune in to The Race…
A galloping horse puts four tonnes of pressure on lower limb joints with each stride.
AAP/Hamish Blair
In elite racehorses, biology is pushed to the limit – about four tonnes is placed on the joint surfaces in a galloping horse’s lower limb with every stride, and these repeated loads have the potential…