Tag Archives: cup
Flemington Racecourse, Home of the Melbourne Cup
Flemington is definitely Australias best known racecourse as it is home of the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops a nation.
Flemington in central Melbourne is where races were held in 1840, on the river flats of the Maribyrnong River. At the time, Melbourne was a town barely five years old and just starting to boom, largely due to the gold strikes in nearby Bendigo and Ballarat. Flemington then developed along with Melbourne.
Flemington is Australias oldest race course, and in 2006 was placed on the National Heritage List. Located just 15 minutes from Melbournes CBD, Flemington is firmly on the tourist map, although many tourists come to see the famous rose gardens rather than the horses! Flemington is serviced to this day by special race trains on big race days, and Melbournes famous trams at other times. Flemington is a big centre for training, with many of Australias best known horse trainers maintaining stables at or near the Flemington course
The history of Flemington is synonymous with the history of the Melbourne Cup. The Cup was first held at the course in 1861, and has been held ever since on the first Tuesday of November. The Melbourne Cup is the best known race of Flemingtons Spring Carnival, which runs over eight days. Other feature races are the AJ McKinnon Stakes, the Victoria Derby and the Victoria Oaks.
The Flemington track has an unusual feature called the “straight six” where horses race down a straight 1200m (six furlongs) section of track which then joins the track proper.
The modern day Flemington track bears little resemblance to the original rough and ready track, which brought rich and poor together in the gold rush days. The early track had no barriers and few facilities. However, the long term success of the Melbourne Cup has seen the Victoria Racing Club invest heavily in the Flemington track. Today Flemington boasts a capacity of over 120,000 and three grandstands. The newest stand cost $45 million and opened in 2000. The Hill Stand was built in 1977. Notable art works displayed in the stands include a bronze statue of the famous horse Phar Lap, and a seven panel mural by Harold Freedman, which illustrates the history of racing.
As soon as the Melbourne Cup of 2006 was run and won, the entire track surface was ripped up and replaced for the first time in Flemingtons history. Racing did not resume at Flemington until September 2007.
Even in the early days, the Melbourne Cup became as well known for its social party atmosphere as for the racing and betting. Today, Flemington is as much home to fashion in the field events in Australia as Ascot is in England.
Flemington markets itself as a destination for much more than racing. The Flemington Event Centre is a premier spot to host a wedding in the rose gardens, a sophisticated cocktail party or a trendy product launch. However, at the end of the day, Flemington racecourse will always be the home of the Melbourne Cup.
Your Guide to the Cheltenham betting 2011
The 2011 Cheltenham Festival is the queen of all horse jump racing. This year marks the one hundred years of the jump race festival. The countrys jump race calendar revolves around the Cheltenham Festival as most of the best horses from all over England and Ireland dreams on coveting the gold cup. The Cheltenham Festival hosts a total of twenty-six races where in twelve of these are Grade 1s.
The Cheltenham betting 2011 is all about high rolling, just imagine over 600 million pound are bound to exchange hands in all twenty seven festival races during the four day event. The highlighted race will be the fourth race in the card each day that is supported with grade 1 races and handicaps. Take a look at the best Cheltenham betting odds in comparison tables for your favorite race category where you can peek for the best price of your selection. You can open an account with an authorized bookmaker by registering through one of the many online Cheltenham betting sites. These sites also provide you with real time updates and even offered with free bets.
Here is your guide and overview to the four-day 2011 Cheltenham Festival:
First day The race day opening promises to be an exciting one as the Champion Hurdle is featured as the highlight race of the day. The Supreme Novice Hurdle also opens on the first day of the festival and is followed by the Arkle Chase.
Second day Day two of the 2011 Cheltenham Horse race Festival highlights six interesting race meets, which includes the Champion Bumper. This is a flat race run that adopts the National Hunt rules and the main attraction of the event is the Queen Mother Chase. The Queen Mother Chase is more likely the book makers most feared event this because the odds are high and horses tend to perform at their best in this race. Another event to look into the second day is the Coral Jump and the National Hunt Novice Chase both of which are new additions to the festival. The second day of the festival usually falls on Wednesday and is hailed as Ladies Day where in lady race enthusiasts are offered free bets.
Third day Day three of the festival features the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, which you can mark as the fourth race on your race card. The Ryanair is another highlighted race event and the Pretemps are scheduled as the final race of the day. Another new race added to the list is the Jewson Novices Handicapped Steeple Chase.
Last day Day four and the final festival day it features the Cheltenham Gold Cup the apex race of the festival, here you can see crowd favorites and underdogs race their hearts out for the coveted gold cup. This is the best time to go into Cheltenham betting site to secure your bids for your favorite horses. Apart from this, the Triumph Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett races are also scheduled on this day.