The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous race, a challenging 2 mile (16 furlongs) race held at Flemington Racecourse by the Victoria Race Club. It's often referred to as the race that stops a nation and the city of Melbourne takes a public holiday on race day.

The race is a handicap and usually attracts a big field. In 2005 and 2006 the purse for the race was AUS$5 million. The legendary Australian racehorse Phar Lap won the 1930 running of the Melbourne Cup, but in recent years the race became associated with the wonder mare Makybe Diva who won it three times in a row (2003-05).

Melbourne Cup Racecourse	Flemington
The Melbourne Cup is run at the Flemington Racecourse over a distance of 3200 meters. The racetrack can accommodate more than 100,000 spectators, and up to 122,736 have crammed in on Melbourne Cup day. Flemington hosts 13 Grade 1 races and is one of the premier tracks in Australia.
It is estimated that a staggering 80% of all Australians placed a wager of some kind (gambling on the race, or entering an informal betting pool) on the 2000 running of the Melbourne Cup.

Melbourne Cup - Past Winners

2002 Media Puzzle
2003 Makybe Diva
2004 Makybe Diva
2005 Makybe Diva
2006 Delta Blues

Melbourne Cup - Betting

Bookmaker.com Review	5Dimes.com Review