The Melbourne Cup Carnival attracts huge crowds each year. It continues to be recognised as the highlight of the Australian racing calendar, and draws attendees from across Mel bourne, Victoria, Australia and internationally. The 1866 Melbourne Cup race was run on a Thursday, and in 1867 the Cup was run in October. It wasn’t until 1875 that the race was run on the first Tuesday of November. Although the three-handled loving cup is widely recognised as the traditional cup design, this has only been the case since 1919.

• Run by the Victoria Racing Club, the Melbourne Cup has gone on to become Australia’s most watched three odd minutes of television each year. King Archer and de Mestre the Master. From the very beginning, Melbourne Cup history started as a story describing legends. Under Etienne de Mestre, Archer won the maiden staging of the race.
• This is a list of the winners of the Melbourne Cup.The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major thoroughbred horse race.It is run at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.Each year, internationally bred or owned horses compete in the race. Since 1882, New Zealand–bred horses have won 40 Melbourne Cups, British-bred horses five, American-bred horses four, Irish-bred horses four, German-bred horses two.
• Every year, Australians come together to celebrate the most popular horse race on the calendar, Melbourne Cup Day. The Melbourne Cup is the premier event of the Spring Racing Carnival and is held on the first Tuesday in November each year, which will be on the 2nd of November in 2021.

Australians are expected to sink over $300 million into the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, but what does the horse you have bet on say about you?

ESPN horse racing expert* Mike Wise has run the numbers, read the tea leaves and had a chat to a mate that swears blind that he partied with Tom Waterhouse on Hamilton Island once.

Forget the form guide. Below is the true insight into the 2019 Melbourne Cup field.

*Not a real expert.

1. CROSS COUNTER

Number one. You got one horse into the form guide and decided that dedicating too much thought to this was a waste of time. Cross Counter will be popular with people who like fries, margarita pizzas, Coca-Cola and other first-on-the-menu items.

2. MER DE GLACE

Congratulations, you've picked the bookies' favourite. You're probably also a Patriots fan.

3. MASTER OF REALITY

Don't be fooled by the name -- this is the fantasists pick. Why? This is Melbourne Cup number 17 for jockey Frankie Dettori, who is yet to ride a winner.

4. MIRAGE DANCER

Mirage Dancer's third-place finish in the Caulfield Cup had a distinct 'bronze is better than silver' vibe to it. Mediocrity, maybe a place, is this horse's destiny.

5. SOUTHERN FRANCE

Voted by its peers as 'the horse most likely to be scratched,' Southern France is perhaps the most nondescript, anonymous horse out there. Most likely a winner then.

6. HUNTING HORN

Ah yes the mating call of Flemington. Woo girls and frat boys (YIEW!) will be sounding their hunting horns to cheer on this Aidan O'Brien-trained bolter. Stay clear unless you plan on walking home from your Melbourne Cup festivities barefoot, carrying your shoes.

7. LATROBE

When Is The Melbourne Cup Run Each Year 2019

The only people backing Latrobe are alums, people from MALbourne, or those keen on taking down horse number 19. More on that later.

8. MUSTAJEER

Mustajeer not wearing mustard feels like a real missed opportunity. Instead, Damien Oliver will be donning the 'lucky' horseshoe. This will bring zero luck to Mustajeer or its fans -- 15th place at best.

9. ROSTROPOVICH

The results are in ... daytime TV fans are investing heavily in Rostropovich, of the Maury Povich stable. DNA tests will be needed later to prove that Rostropovich's dad really is Frankel.

10. TWILIGHT PAYMENT

Named after the reparations owed to society for the Twilight saga movies, Twilight Payment an excellent choice for a winner -- kudos to those who have picked it. A triumph here and the debt owed to us all for Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 will be forgiven.

12. FINCHE

Exactly like his namesake, Australia's ODI cricket captain Aaron Finch, Finche is a boom or bust type horse. Those that have backed this horse can expect a duck or to be kissing the badge at the end of the race. Flip a coin.

12. PRINCE OF ARRAN

Eagle-eyed punters will have noticed that this horse ran in last year's Melbourne Cup under the name 'A Prince of Arran.' Losing a whole A should be a weight off this horse's shoulders but, then again, do horses have shoulders?

13. RAYMOND TUSK

Isn't Raymond Tusk some sort of eccentric billionaire that dabbles in philanthropy and round-the-world air balloon races? He's mad as a hatter, but that won't help him in a running race against actual horses. Our pick: dead last but enjoying every minute of it.

14. DOWNDRAFT

Kitted out in Parra colours, Downdraft clearly peaked in the early 80s -- just like anyone who fancies this horse as a winner.

When Is The Melbourne Cup Run Each Year Since

15. MAGIC WAND

Those in the know say that Magic Wand will start the Melbourne Cup well before fading -- which is, of course, complete nonsense. If there's one certainty that this column can offer, it's that Magic Wand will stay completely opaque throughout the whole race.

16. NEUFBOSC

Always a fan of the underdog, thrill-seekers will have sought out the horse with the longest odds: Neufbosc. Unfortunately, this cheese-eating surrender monkey has no chance of staging an upset.

17. SOUND

Sound's name just lends itself to too many corny headlines. Stay clear unless you really, really like dad jokes.

18. SURPRISE BABY

Described as a 'lightly raced stayer' by most outlets, which is basically real-estate speak for a real fixer-upper. Either way, Surprise Baby is a work in progress -- a 'glad to be part of the day' type.

19. CONSTANTINOPLE

History buffs will be all over Constantinople. SMARTER history buffs will know to stay clear because the fall of Constantinople was because of the enlightenment, aka universities, aka horse No. 7. Simples.

20. IL PARADISO

This horse is likely named after a cocktail that has too much Malibu in it. Most people should stay well clear of backing Il Paradiso, unless super sweet, fake coconuts are your thing.

21. STEEL PRINCE

Savvy punters will know that despite all the 'information' in the 'form guide' this horse actually hails from Newcastle and the jockey is Joey Johns. Guaranteed to be a winner.

22. THE CHOSEN ONE

So you've picked The Chosen One as your chosen one? Could you be any more basic?

23. VOW AND DECLARE

Michael Jordan, David Beckham, LeBron James and ... Vow and Declare? Punters who backed horse 23 will be dancing like Shane Warne with a stump in his hand if this gelding gets up.

24. YOUNGSTAR

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HORSES IN THIS RACE?!? Youngstar ran sixth last year and clearly has been wheeled out again to make up the numbers. A 'roughie' is the nice way to describe it.

History of the Melbourne Cup

When Is The Melbourne Cup Run Each Year Every

When the Melbourne Cup was first run in 1861, there were two organising committees controlling horse racing in Victoria, the Victorian Turf Club (1852) and the Victorian Jockeys Club (1857).

The Melbourne Cup was introduced in 1861 by the Victorian Turf Club to trump the success of Victorian Jockey Club races such as the Two Thousand Guineas.

As a handicap race, the Melbourne Cup introduced a level of speculation that the club hoped would attract more entries, and therefore higher prize money. The two competing organisations disbanded in 1864, before merging to form the Victorian Racing Club, which has controlled racing in Victoria and the Melbourne Cup ever since.

Although the Melbourne Cup today is well-known in Australia for being run on the first Tuesday in November, this hasn’t always been the case. The 1866 Melbourne Cup race was run on a Thursday, and in 1867 the Cup was run in October. It wasn’t until 1875 that the race was run on the first Tuesday of November.

When Is The Melbourne Cup Run Each Year 2020

Although the three-handled loving cup is widely recognised as the traditional cup design, this has only been the case since 1919. Before then the cups came in a variety of styles, with each year having a completely original design. Some years no trophy was presented at all. In fact, for the first few decades of the race, it was more common for no trophy to be awarded.