While everyone in the UK will know all about those major horse racing meetings like the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot, they all pale in comparison with the sun-fuelled glamour of the Melbourne Cup. But what is it about this legendary Australian horse race that draws such a magnetic pull over all true horse racing fans?

If you look at the basic features of this horse race, it might not look too remarkable. After all, it’s just another horse race that’s held for three-year olds and over, and everything from the turf surface to the running distance of 3,200 metres are things that you could expect to find with many other horse races. 

Money matters at the biggest race meetings and betting sites for horse racing

It’s when you notice the fact that the Melbourne Cup regularly hosts a prize purse in excess of $8 million that you realise that this horse race is a little different from a Wednesday race meeting in Thirsk. After all, it’s not for nothing that the Melbourne Cup has become known as being the richest two-mile handicap horse race in the world. 

Of course, anywhere where money goes, the bookies go. So it’s little surprise to find that all decent sites for horse racing in Australia will be fighting to give customers the best odds for this epic horse race. Plus there will be incredible competition at the racecourse to tempt the thousands of punters to put down their racing bets. Recent Melbourne Cup races have drawn crowds in excess of 100,000 with many millions more watching on television. 

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Maximum glamour at the Melbourne Cup

It’s fair to say that the Melbourne Cup is the world’s most glamorous horse race. While Royal Ascot has the Queen in attendance and the Kentucky Derby has its all-American charm, the Melbourne Cup has more A-listers than you can shake a stick at. 

There are many different theories about why the Melbourne Cup has become such a celebrity magnet. A big reason could be the fact that this race is held in November at which point Melbourne is starting to enter yet another magnificent summer.

As such, supermodels like Gigi Hadid will come flocking from all over the world to lap up the sunshine. Plus the Melbourne Cup has become a real target for gossip column fodder like Mischa Barton and Paris Hilton to parade in front of the paparazzi. Plus when you even get rap icons like Snoop Dogg in attendance, it shows that the Melbourne Cup has the power to transfix even the most unlikely horse racing fans. 

Horse racing excellence at the Melbourne Cup

Of course the Melbourne Cup wouldn’t be a serious proposition unless it was capable of continually bringing us the best in horse racing entertainment. This illustrious horse race has been held since way back in 1861 and it has produced many memorable winners in its 160 year history. 

It’s hard to beat the amazing achievements of Makybe Diva. After all this famous horse race won no less than three consecutive Melbourne Cups between 2003 and 2005. When you consider that no runner had managed to win this horse race more than twice, it’s truly an epic achievement.  

There have also been plenty of jockeys who have put down some memorable performances at the Melbourne Cup. Recently we’ve seen the likes of Kerrin McEvoy and Glen Boss getting three wins each, but it would be hard to beatthe history-making achievement of Michelle Payne winning the Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance on odds of 100/1 in 2015. 

Plus it’s worth noting that any racehorse entered by owner Lloyd Williams is going to be worth a look as this racehorse owner has owned a record seven Melbourne Cup winners. 

There’s always plenty of interest about which runner will get the top race time at the prestigious Flemington Racecourse. It’ll certainly take some doing to eclipse the Melbourne Cup race record winning time of 3:16.3 that has been held by Kingston Rule since 1990. All of which has meant that there’s truly no horse race like the Melbourne Cup.