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The race that stops a nation
By Grant Holloway
MELBOURNE, Australia (CNN) -- It's called the race which stops a nation, and this year's Melbourne Cup is no exception. Across Australia, all work will cease at 3.10 pm (AEDT) Tuesday while 23 horses battle it out over 3,200 meters for one of the thoroughbred racing world's richest purses. Restaurants, hotels and betting agencies are jam-packed as Australians flock to Melbourne Cup lunches and celebrations, which provide much more of an excuse to have a party than to study the equine form. A record $80 million ($150 million) will be wagered by Australians alone in this year's Cup, being held, as always, on the first Tuesday of November at the Flemington race track in the southern city of Melbourne. It is estimated that more than 70 percent of adult Australians place a bet on the race, albeit many of those via the ubiquitous office sweepstakes. For many of those, the wager is the one and only they will make on a horse race until the next year's Melbourne Cup. Interest in the Cup this year has been spurred by a particularly open field with a large number of non-Australian entries making the form harder to read and the potential dividends all the greater. More than one third of the 23 runner field are non-Australian horses, giving the race its most international feel in its 142-year history. Prize moneyWhat is drawing the owners and trainers of the international contingent to Melbourne is the lure of more than $2 million ($4 million) in prize money. Included in the overseas entries are three horses from the Emirates-backed Godolphin syndicate, and two from the stables of Irish trainer Dermot Weld. English owners also have two horses racing and neighboring New Zealand -- always well represented in the Cup -- has five entrants. Hong Kong's hopes, meanwhile, will ride on the David Hayes-trained, New Zealand-bred stayer Helene Vitality. But if previous form is anything to go by, the prize money should be staying in Australia. Apart from New Zealand horses, only one overseas runner has ever lifted the trophy -- Weld's Vintage Crop back in 1993.
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