The Melbourne Cup

'…and here comes Kiwi out of the blue!'

The Melbourne Cup is described in Australia as ‘the race that stops a nation’. But the Cup has become just as much a part of New Zealand life. On the first Tuesday in November every year, at around 5 p.m., New Zealand and Australia come to a standstill for about 3 minutes and 20 seconds for the call of the Melbourne Cup.

The Melbourne Cup is New Zealand's single biggest betting event. For many Kiwis it is their once-a-year trip to the TAB. It is the TAB’s biggest betting race of the year – with about 4.5 times more bets placed on it than on the next biggest race, the NZ Trotting Cup. In 2010 Kiwi punters invested $8.73 million on the race - the highest total ever. The TAB estimated that 10% of the New Zealand population had a bet on the race but the real number would be considerably higher given the number of workplaces throughout the country that run sweepstakes on the big race. Here people with little or no racing knowledge will enter the draw and then crowd around a television with their workmates to watch ‘the great race’.

One of the reasons the Melbourne Cup has become such an ingrained part of New Zealand culture is the great success our horses have enjoyed in the race. Since its inception in 1861, 41 New Zealand-bred horses have won the Melbourne Cup while New Zealand-bred horses have won 28 of the past 50 Melbourne Cup races.

Some famous NZ winners

Our first winner

The first New Zealand-bred winner of the Melbourne Cup was Martini Henry in 1883. Named after a type of rifle, Martini Henry won by two lengths in a time of 3 minutes and 30.5 seconds. So easy was his victory that his jockey 'never whipped him from start to finish'. more...

Carbine, 1890

Modern-day fields in the Melbourne Cup are limited to 24 horses. When Carbine won in 1890 he was in a field of 39. Carbine set a new race record despite carrying 66kg. No other winner has carried as much weight. Carbine was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. more...

Phar Lap, 1930

Of the 41 Kiwi-bred winners, Phar Lap perhaps stands out from the rest. Timaru-born, he became a ray of sunshine during the lean years of the Great Depression. Phar Lap remains the shortest-priced favourite in Cup history when he won in 1930 at odds of 8-11. more...

Van der Hum, 1976

The 1976 Melbourne Cup was one of the wettest on record. The visibility was so poor that the commentator could not pick up any of the runners until the closing stages of the race. The Kiwi stayer Van der Hum revelled in the wet and was kicked home by champion New Zealand jockey Bob Skelton. more...

Kiwi, 1983

Live television coverage certainly helped raise the profile of the Melbourne Cup in this country – as exemplified by Kiwi’s victory in 1983. Kiwi was last at the turn, and its dash to victory was barely picked up by the commentators until the last few strides more...

Empire Rose, 1988

The gigantic mare Empire Rose had run second to Kensei in the 1987 Melbourne Cup. A year later she was the undoubted star of the 1988 race. Empire Rose became the first mare to win the Cup since 1965. more...

Ethereal, 2001

Only 11 horses have won both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in the same year. Eight of these have been Kiwi-bred, with the most recent being Ethereal in 2001. Ethereal's victory gave New Zealander Sheila Laxon the distinction of being the first woman to train a Melbourne Cup winner.  more...