I love the Melbourne Cup. And it’s history is fascinating. I reckon that in many ways the Melbourne cup can be seen as a massive marketing campaign. And in that sense, it’s been a massive success, and a massive failure.
The first Melbourne cup was held back in 1861. From the start it was a clever bit of marketing – a way to broaden the appeal of racing.
VRC secretary Robert Bagot had the genius idea of issuing members with two ladies tickets. Like every marketing guru throughout time, he figured that “where ladies went, men would follow.”
It worked. 4,000 people turned up to watch the race. That might not sound like a lot, but it was enough to make it one of the most popular races of the time.
Strong out the gate already, a public holiday from as early as 1865 really gave the race a lift. People will take to anything that gives them a day off work. And from that point on, it’s place in the public imagination and Australian folklore was enshrined.
By 1880, less than twenty years on, they reckon 100,000 people showed up to watch the race. In a town (which Melbourne still was at that time) of 260,000, that’s nothing short of phenomenal.
I think the Melbourne Cup struck a particularly strong chord in a country still learning how to stand on it’s own two feet.
It belonged to Australia. It wasn’t one of the imported festivals or holidays from imperial old England. And horses have a special place in a nation opened up by rugged and romanticised by stockmen, or given an air of daring by bushrangers.
It sat neatly into what new Australia thought new Australia was about.
And the idea of having a day off work to “have a bit of a flutter” – gambling being one of the great vices in Victorian England – probably gave the locals a tickle, and tied into our ‘up-yours guvvna’ larrikinism.
And you’d have to say it’s also perfectly timed, as Melbourne comes out of the caves of winter into the relief of Spring.
What’s not to love about it?
And hats off the VRC – from the late 1880s onwards its been a well-run spectacle. It’s held its place in Australian public life with grace, never over-extending or under-delivering.
I think they recognised that the Melbourne Cup had it’s own momentum. Like a Hollywood celebrity, it was popular because it was popular. Hands-off is the best approach.
So as an event, it’s an incredible success.
But as a marketing campaign? Did it live up to its creators’ ambitions? Has the Melbourne Cup become a gateway into the ‘Sport of Kings’?
Probably not.
Horse racing in Australia continues to struggle. And while the Melbourne Cup lives up to the glitz and glamour promised in a title like ‘Sport of Kings’, most Australians are awake to the gritty realities of horse racing.
Horse racing has an image problem.
Modern online sports betting has capitalised on it by ruthlessly pulling it into their ad campaigns – TAB’s full of bikies, bearded ladies and all manner of weirdo’s wearing out pencils trying to find the next thing to lose money on.
It’s not pretty. Their intention is to attack ‘old world’ gambling options, but it’s a reality that people recognise in horse racing.
And horse racing (which is all about gambling, let’s face it) is also being squeezed by an explosion in other forms of sports betting (having already being laid on the canvas once by pokie machines). These days, pretty much if it’s on Fox Sports, you can bet on it.
But these forms of sports betting are much more novice-friendly. Hawks vs Swans? There’s only two outcomes. And if you’re already following the code, you can get a decent sense of what’s more likely. Even if you’re completely ignorant, there’s a good chance you’ll just ‘get lucky’.
There’s up to 24 horses in the Melbourne Cup. That’s 24 possible outcomes. The completely uniformed has only a 1/24 chance of winning. They’re not enticing odds.
And you can improve your odds by following form and breeding (and then try and figure out how form and breeding are accounted for by the handicap!), but c’mon, that’s a lot of work.
And so while there does seem to be some return to knowledge and experience – the more you know, the better your chances – this is exactly what beginners don’t have.
And so what horse racing does is effectively ask its newbies to subsidise the more experienced gamblers, until they’ve learnt the ropes themselves.
Try selling that to a twenty year old with limited disposable income.
And so horse racing continues to try to capitalise on the hype of the Melbourne Cup, but doesn’t’ seem to be getting anywhere. How many of the punters there on cup day are actually there for the race? Most are there for the spectacle, the party, the pretty ladies.
Horse racing (almost) has nothing to do with it.
But would the slow death of horse racing be bad for the Melbourne Cup? I doubt it.
The Melbourne cup is a force unto itself. Even if the entire racing industry collapsed, the public (and the sponsors!) wouldn’t let the cup die. Worst case scenario, you’d just have amateur horses ridden by amateur jockeys.
That might even be an improvement.
So long live the Melbourne Cup. It’s a race that stops a nation, and then brings them together like nothing else – in a celebration of something uniquely Australian, home-grown and built from the ground up.
And let’s make it a national holiday, hey? Why not? If the banks can have their holiday, let the people have theirs.
It’s one of the most enduring, endearing and authentic connections we have to our past.
So happy Cup day everybody. Hope you get lucky. Hope your horse comes in.
But I know it doesn’t really matter.
jason says
what gets me is how fickle government regulation on gambling is.only 2 years ago there were all sorts of adds on t.v. about how damaging gambling is to families,you need to seek help….now check out the crap that’s on every add break ,tom waterhouse useing the family name to squeeze idiots out of the weekly pay packet,ladbrokes even give you a credit card so you can shout your mates,how cool i need one.i have idiot mates that work all week to support the kids they never see and then blow it on the pokies after work,complete dickheads .gambling just gives false hope and a little rush here and there,seriously get a life or a hobby losers.crappy cup day!
KatD says
I like what you’ve written Jon.
I wonder which city in Australia could make cycling sexy and institute a peloton race event/spectacle and a public holiday when all fossil fuelled vehicles get banned from entering the city. A circus would be in town and we’d get to watch racing unicycles, vintage bikes, scooters… anything on wheels that’s powered by the rider. I’ll just keep daydreaming.
jason says
middle aged men in lycra is not the answer!
Andrew says
It’s called the Tour Down Under.
Steven Hambly says
I wish I was able to offer punters the “pick the first 10 horses past the post in order” for $25 million. Hell I would even offer $100 million prize money! It is just so ludicrously near impossible to win but people just see a big prize and go after it. If they realised it would take 200 million Melbourne cup races to win once on average, I wonder whether they would bet? Probably.
Sowrabh Behl says
just finished watching the race. i still dont get why watching a few horses is entertaining.
Patrick says
Most of the world is shocked when Pamplona in Spain performs “the running of the bulls” festival.
Most can see through this as an exhibition of cruelty to bulls under the guise of “entertainment and traditional purposes.”
Really how different is Australia’s Melbourne Cup to the running of the bulls festival?
Firstly it looks like the Melbourne Cup breaks it’s own state laws:
Victorian Current Acts
PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT 1986 – SECT 9
(1) A person who—
(a) wounds, mutilates, tortures, overrides, overdrives, overworks, abuses, beats, worries, torments or terrifies an animal; or
carries out a prohibited procedure on an animal— “commits an act of cruelty upon that animal and is guilty of an offence and is liable to a penalty of not more than, in the case of a natural person, 246 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or, in the case of a body corporate, 600 penalty units.”
Here is the link:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/poctaa1986360/
Surely if it was cruel the RSPCA would know about it and prevent it?
Apparently not according to their own documentation.
Excerpt – “Horses may be rejected from the racing industry due to poor performance, illness, injury and behavioural problems. Across all equestrian disciplines, the single largest reason for wastage is musculoskeletal injury. Only a certain proportion of these surplus racehorses can be used by the equestrian industry or join breeding programs, which means that thousands of young and often healthy horses are sent to knackeries and abattoirs every year. Thus the horsemeat industry represents a significant direct destination for a lot of these horses.”
Here is the link:
http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-horse-wastage-in-the-racehorse-industry_235.html
Look what happened to Verema at last years Melbourne cup:
http://www.news.com.au/national/melbourne-cup-runner-verema-euthanised/story-fncynjr2-1226753635918
For a sure thing on the Melbourne cup Animals Australia say there are 4 sure bets:
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/horse-racing-would-be-better-without-horses.php
What about looking at things from the horses point of view for a change?
There many vested interests who will lose money ($455.5 million is spent of the Melbourne Cup each year) if the Melbourne Cup is less successful, but I ask you this:
Would you feel sorry for the matadors in Spain who make money out of inflicting suffering, cruelty and death to the bulls?
Just because everyone is “having fun” and is either ignorant (like I was) or turning a blind eye to what is really nothing more than a giant money making machine for all concerned (except the horses and the losing punters), it doesn’t mean that it is okay to have a “harmless once a year flutter”
How harmless is this once a year flutter? Not very – Domestic violence peaks on this day.
See the report on SBS TV’s “The feed”
Melbourne Cup, Alcohol, and Domestic Violence I The Feed (3 mins)
If for some reason an organisation wants to complain about the cruelty and try to stop this by raising public awareness; then they are the ones who are labelled as party poopers and extremists.
Here is the link to their site
http://www.horseracingkills.com/
It just goes to show how brainwashed the public has been made by the media machine for this event. If you didn’t know of this beforehand; now you do. So what is your choice for next years race?
OZboy says
Thank you Patrick.Is it possible that your article become aware to the larger public for greater good of the nation.
People must know how bad it is for all our kids ,brothers & sisters .
Al says
Patrick – there is no way anyone could call you a prophet ‘in modern terms’ – do we say ‘fully aware’ of an existing – updated ‘current’ perspective that re-considers past mannerisms of ‘humanity’s ways? – in my amended expression of our kind – ‘humane’ we witness everyday all manner of ribald contraventions of humane behaviour in our ongoing population explosion on our incredible earth – home. In fairness of horse racing – I have generally known of – kind and ‘not so’ jock’s – trainers – the pivotal difference -v- the two is – individual human nature, some bow to the boss’s ‘orders’ and some do not – it’s the same in every ‘occupation’ – want a job or not ?. The masses love a ‘day off’ and that was “the original bait” – most “bought in” and bit that “hook” – Aussie “precedent advertising”…? We see it everywhere now – ‘buy one – get one free’ – typically goods made in India etc can be offered here that way and still make considerable profits for the slave masters and big retailer stores- am I indicating “use and abuse of humans as less worth than those in better of lands”?… all due to the preposterous pyramidal system of tiering humans (forget animals for now) via money as the base platform – originally directly rising from either religious or their choice of ‘sanctioned’ nominated ‘noble’ family lines…some god(?) help us be free of history – for figure heads are a huge drain on all.
Modern times have quietly stolen their power (almost all financial as well) in the modern world and we are now “corporatised” – to the point that not that far away(?) – governments may/will have to do something to “still be holding their own in – the money game” – one note is all the banks are/have long been quietly dealing by stealth – all former power of kings/queens etc from their “governance”(?) … we all know of the small number of family lines that ‘own’ the banks and what is really financially going on – between them, banks and the govt’s don’t we?
?…?
…What to do about it – as – for all the future children of any-every human cultural “races” (?) (and while not ignoring any of the animal kingdom as well) it’s far more of a problem in one view – when looking forward beyond all the current cultural ‘one day of more social madness’ that offers all ‘forms of spectators ‘ a current release of adrenalin (and 95% assured loss of their money punting for the sake of not working for a day and, ‘not being paid’ for taking it?) – go back to the original notes, it was always about a “selective few commercialism” – it still is – . an old game of (loaded dice) chance, odds always in favor of the ‘home game makers rules’
… go see the governing TAB – profits – people handing their wages back to the ‘boss’- Govt.
I have to wonder what ‘sub heading’- ‘bigger gamblers’ sit their bets in tax – ‘losses/claims’ as – board meetings?(or is it – ‘bored’) – ‘so I went to the cup to have a play and see my mates’…
Don’t take me wrong I have known a racing industry horse owner/trainer – take away his own life as a consequence of tearing his incredible love for his horses and his final desperation to taking away his own life due he was so, so far under financially and emotionally he left us all.
Financial suicide is not reported as an ‘itemised number’ in listings -v- any other basis for the tragedy of suicide deaths, I will not guess any proportions – this fools ‘money game’ we all are obliged to play in …is primal – archaic – draconian and antithetical to ‘equality’ beyond all/any “common sense” for the ‘worldly connected times’ we all live in – we all took a giant step when women were finally recognised as equal and in this ‘our’ country – the ‘traditional owners’ are now able to realise/regain (some of their own country) lands that were just ‘conquered taken’.
The “Crown has never owned this land” Gough Whitlam ‘shoved’ that when he hand poured the red earth of the “Territory” back to Vincent Lingarri’s own hand proposing native title was then done, it was a huge step and after 200 years definitely short-v- all Europe’s nightmares.
This country is the most recent and the most modern world aware power on the world stage. We are the future cultural blending/melting pot of the whole world, I make no miss-take about noting that way of putting that forward, that we are so blessed and (potentially- cursed) is the ultimate dichotomy test for all who are so fortunate to be living in this multicultural land of Oz.
We have many legacies – Anzacs are at the heart of ‘this yearly cycle’ that “captures the cup race” but tests all sobrietry of the rememberance events every year by – preceeding the cup. You are on the money with ‘image problem’ Jon, not going to get better as two horses down this years event – prophecy is ‘accidental’ in 99 versions of 100 realities ‘spoken’ – in words, … as tragic as this year is – have you ever noticed how many hundreds of ‘doggies’ have been put down year in and out in the greyhound racing industry? anyone would be shocked, that that number is in the hundreds a year, ask any ‘open to speak’ – industry vet providing doses.
As ‘superior creators’ in the world we have some way to go before we are Human(e)? beings as we are potentially supposed to be(?) – underpinning our vexation is an ultimate in-equality, financially – we are all still lepers as we are tiered according to ‘have and not – equalities’ that can never be balanced in this our (ancient design but still) current pyramidal financial system.
The entire global monetary system has seen cracks appearing – Bit coin, it’s a ‘crack’, not an answer in/of itself – up against the current system it’s faulty – playing a shadow hand at best, the core equality of 1 unit = 1 unit, correct principle but it cannot break current high end value – market place traders trading in an otherwise now (equally almost invisible – farcicle) $ loom.
… etc ..
anyway …following may be of some interest to some readers via the next (= probably needs copy/ paste it in ?.link) for this presentation here:> http://www.hiddensecretsofmoney.com
I note it for interest to your collective readers that may have a “diss-associated” awareness.
Cheers Jon … keep going your notes always interesting and offer positive, widest ‘balances’.
m …
are
Helena Smirnis says
l am in total agreement with you Patrick.
Keep the Melbourne Cup, just gamble on something else that does not include Animals.