‘World has changed’: Why Aussies aren’t heading to Flemington

The Melbourne Cup is now the race that divides the nation but there’s a simple reason it isn’t as well attended, says Caleb Bond.

OPINION

The Melbourne Cup is not just one of the greatest sporting events in Australia – it’s one of the best in the world.

Some of the finest athletes, both equine and human, face the challenge of running two miles – 3200m – and being first across the line.

It sorts the wheat from the chaff and it’s still the race that stops the nation.

And yes, you’ll have the Nup to the Cup numpties out today, engaging in their annual day of decrying horse racing before forgetting about it for the rest of the year.

But they don’t seem to have been so loud this year. People – and certain sections of the media which used to amplify their minority views – aren’t interested in what they’re selling.

Nup to the Cup activists, seen here in 2019, have been quieter this year, says Caleb Bond. Picture: AAP Image/David Crosling

On Tuesday, we will witness the 163rd running of the Melbourne Cup. It’s an event steeped in history, integral to the cultural fabric of this country.

The success of 1930 Melbourne Cup winner Phar Lap basically nursed Australia through the early stages of the Great Depression.

And what a story. Someone tried to shoot him three days before the Melbourne Cup. He won the Melbourne Stakes that afternoon and the Cup three days later after being hidden in Geelong.

It’s still one of the great sporting stories told around the world.

Or Makybe Diva winning the Cup three times. Rank roughie Prince of Penzance coming from midfield in 2015 to win for Michelle Payne – the first female jockey to secure the cup.

They are all great Australian stories and part of the reason we still love the Melbourne Cup.

Attendance figures may be down from the 100,000-odd people they’d get to Flemington 20 years ago.

But the world has changed. Everything is open on public holidays now. The Melbourne Cup was once the only party in town – now you can have the Cup party anywhere.

The Financial Review sneered that “merely 73,000 people” attended Derby Day on Saturday. Never mind that that makes it one of the best-attended sporting events in the country in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday was attended by 73,000 people. Picture Jay Town/Racing Photos via Getty Images

An Essential poll in 2020 found that 72 per cent of people believe the Cup is a “unique part of Australia’s national identity”.

It also found the proportion of people who intend to bet on the Melbourne Cup is growing – which means that while attendance may be lower than historic highs, engagement in the race is increasing.

Some people, like me, engage with racing almost every day of the year. I own horses – and I can assure you that there is nothing like the thrill of watching your horse race, let alone winning.

Winning the Australian Hurdle at Sandown this year with Circle The Sun, a horse I own with one of my best mates, would rank as one of the best experiences of my life.

Others engage one day a year – but it doesn’t matter, because the feeling is exactly the same.

The Melbourne Cup is, ultimately, about dreams. The trainers, owners and jockeys dream of hoisting that Cup above their heads.

Caleb Bond owns race horses and is a big fan of the Melbourne Cup. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Punters, perhaps having their one bet of the year, dream of what they could do with the cash if they pick the winner or pull off the trifecta.

People outside of Victoria, who have to go to work, dream of defeating their colleagues in the office sweep.

Racing fans on the other side of the world will stay up late or wake up in the middle of the night to watch one of the greatest staying races on turf.

Australia is a nation of dreamers. It’s how the place was built. And the Melbourne Cup is an integral part of that fabric.

After years of watching from afar, I attended my first Melbourne Cup last year. Watching those magnificent beasts thunder past and winning big on Gold Trip was an electric feeling.

Standing there, among all these other people, focusing on one event, you just know it’s special.

And long may the first Tuesday in November remain that way.

Caleb Bond is an Sydney-based commentator and host of The Late Debate on Sky News Australia.

Originally published as ‘World has changed’: Why Aussies aren’t heading to Flemington