AUSTRALIA – The land of marsupials and kangaroos (Melbourne Cup)
In the southern hemisphere, the island of Tasmania is resident to a wide variety of animals. Kangaroos gallop, marsupials swing and slither and horses run. Horse running has advanced to
a sport, but this sport is not an alien concept it came along with the British and now it has flourished to the extent that Australia holds the three leading thoroughbred races of the year.
Although cricket enjoys the most viewership but horse racing has also made an impression on the local people. Australia holds the most esteemed races which feature hoses with both stamina
and speed. The horse most famous in the Land of Oz is the Phar Lap, who has won the 1930 Melbourne Cup; this horse has a history of racing from 1928 to 1932.
The world famous event of the year, the Melbourne Cup, is held in October every year. This Thoroughbred horse race contests three year olds for a distance of about 3,200 metres. The race
has a set weight according to the horse’s age, sex etc. The race has the lushest surfaces and has been held since 1861. This race in its early days employed a pretty peculiar means of gathering viewership whereby it issued tickets for a member with two ladies
tickets and the results of such a strategy were astounding. The race had then a handsome amount of 4,000 spectators. Australia had its first racing club established in 1852.
The only horse to win the Melbourne Cup for a consecutive of three times is the mare bred in England known as Makybe Diva. The thoroughbred won it from 2003-2005 and is also the owner
of Cox Plate. She was trained by David Hall.
The other celebrated races held at Australia are Caulfield Cup and WS Cox Plate. The Caulfield Cup race takes place each year at Caulfield racecourse in October. Held by the Melbourne
Racing Club it covers a range of about 2,400 metres. This type of Group one race is classified as a handicap conditional race. A horse which runs in the Caulfield Cup is eligible to run in the Melbourne Cup as well. The commencement of the Caulfield Cup signals
the beginning of the spring racing carnival. Descarado won the 2010 Caulfield Cup. The thoroughbreds like Might and Power won the 1997 Caulfield Cup and it was Northerly who stole the winning title in 2002. Similarly W.S. Cox Plate is held every year in October
to honour W.S. Cox who was the Club’s founder. Victoria Derby and Crown Oaks are also famous as they draw the attention of many Australians.
Other than this Endurance riding commenced in Australia in 1966. Amongst these the Quilty Cup has a repute of being the National endurance ride.
Group one races are held in five major states in Australia namely Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. With each race being held at the respective
capitals
Group one races throughout the world showers jockeys and trainers with magnificent prizes, the same happens in Australia, which holds the all gloried Group 1 races including both the sprinters
and staying horses, which come from every corner of the world with the spirit to win. These prizes offered at these races range from a whimsical amount of $ 300,000 to a huge amount like $ 6 million at the Dubai World Cup.
Thoroughbred racing may be an acclaimed sport in Australia and to cater to this the land has the highest number of race courses as compared to any other nation.