The Melbourne Cup is the annual Australian horse race held on the first Tuesday of November.
The race is conducted by the Victoria Racing Club at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. It was first run in 1861 and has traditionally been scheduled on the first Tuesday of November, a date that has become part of Australia’s sporting calendar. The race is commonly described as “the race that stops a nation.”
The Melbourne Cup is a handicap for Thoroughbreds and is run over 3,200 metres. Because horses carry different weights, the contest is designed to give runners of varying ability a more even chance. The race is not the same as the Caulfield Cup, another major Australian handicap, which is held at Caulfield Racecourse several weeks earlier.