VRC wants Melbourne Cup to be ‘race that starts the nation’

The Victoria Racing Club has no intention of relinquishing the traditional Melbourne Cup carnival dates.

Jockey Craig Williams celebrates with the Melbourne Cup after riding Vow And Declare to victory last year. Picture: Jason Edwards

Despite pockets of the racing industry advocating for it to be moved back by as much as a month, the Victoria Racing Club has no intention of relinquishing the traditional Melbourne Cup carnival dates.

VRC chief executive Neil Wilson told The Weekend Australian that Flemington racecourse will be adapted so as racegoers can safely attend, even if only a smattering of the regular 350,000 pass through the turnstiles.

“We’ve put a stake in the ground to say Cup week is Cup week,” Wilson said.

“On the first Tuesday in November we really want it to be the Lexus Melbourne Cup that doesn’t stop a nation but the race that starts a nation.

“We really want a people’s Cup feel, very much about the people and what they have had to endure over the last period of time.

“The Cup is an iconic Australian event and, hopefully, this year we will be able to picture it as something that has people feeling like they have finally the corner and go into the New Year with their spirit lifted.”

Prizemoney for the Melbourne Cup soared to $8m last year but the current economic downturn combined with the hit race clubs have taken since COVID-19 prevented racegoers from attending race meetings since March, lower betting turnover and attendances at last year’s spring carnival, will mean a drop in revenue for the thoroughbred code in Victoria this financial year.

There is also the likelihood of little or no participation from northern hemisphere stables as well, making it a trans-Tasman contest.

It is inevitable that the purses for the Melbourne Cup and other feature races will be hit, meaning significant reductions in prizemoney.

“It hasn’t been decided yet. Prizemoney is a hot topic in the racing industry,” Wilson said.

“Five-plus months out we’re still working out what that looks like.

“Guided by the industry as to where they land on prizemoney, we, as the VRC, add to the industry prizemoney and we’ll be looking at what makes sense and be fiscally responsible given our earnings are not going to be anywhere near what they were planned to be this year.

“We need to think about that carefully but I think there is a general understanding across the industry, both in Victoria and nationally that prizemoney is a lever for us to get through this year. I think people understand that situation.”

The VRC is working on different models to put forward to health and government authorities to allow limited attendance on the major days, subject to protocols.

“There is no doubt there will be a reduced footprint. We are working on different models of attendance — if we were 50 per cent that would be a great result.

“If we were down to 30 per cent of normal that would still be OK.

“ I think realistically we have to be planning for one lower than that as well,” Wilson said.

“We have a lot of space at the track.

“We’ve got suites, we’ve got car parks, the rails, we’ve got lawns that can be segregated, a beautiful club stand with restaurants and bars that can be compartmentalised and massive grandstand seating that can be set out.

“If we invest to make it right it could be a very special experience this year, allowing people to enjoy a boutique experience at a major event.”

The Melbourne Cup tour will have a different look this year. There will be a reduction in the number of people that can gather where the trophy is at any one time.

But there has been a fantastic response to the tender process and there will be a regional focus given the inability to go offshore.

“You can expect the Melbourne Cup tour to happen in some form … going to some of the spots that have endured a pretty tough year with bushfires and COVID-19 in a way that is compliant,” Wilson said.