(Edited press release)
Australia’s most famous Thoroughbred race, the Emirates Melbourne Cup (Aus-I), will air on Monday, Nov. 2 in the United States.
Commonly referred to as “The race that stops a nation,” the Melbourne Cup will host a field of 24 runners over a taxing distance of two miles. The race is held each year by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia.
This famous race has been held since 1861 and awards the winner $5,650,000. The live telecast distributed the U.S. will begin at 4:00 p.m. EDT, with a two hour pre-race coverage. The first of 10 races starts at 6:20 p.m. The Melbourne Cup is set to start at 11:00 p.m.
The full 10 race card can be viewed and wagered upon via your local racetrack, OTB, online wagering services, and www.AustralianRacing.com.
The talk on the track revolves around whether 81-year old trainer Bart Cummings can achieve a Grand Slam of the three biggest Australian races. Cummings, has already won the Caulfield Cup with last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Viewed, and last week he claimed the Cox Plate with the 3-year-old, So You Think.
He has at least two chances in the Melbourne Cup, with Viewed and Roman Emperor, who followed his stablemate home at Caulfield, and there will be no more popular winner should one of them succeed and win Cummings an amazing 13th Melbourne Cup.