Thursday, November 3, 2022

The race that troubles a nation

Melbourne Cup is often described as a (horse) race that stops a nation, but given our changing racial demographics, I am not sure this is still the case.

Nevertheless in many ways it is a wonderful day, full of colour and spectacle where all classes of people gather together, unless you are in The Birdcage, a luxury sponsor's marquee or that special car park area. The poshest people even use the train to get to the racecourse. 

The best part was that after the recent flooding in the area, the racecourse suffered no damage as it had built a flood wall which is alleged to have diverted flood waters away from the course to local streets and so flooded homes that had never been flooded before. Nothing in Victoria stands in the way of the gambling industry.

So with a segue, the Highrisers' pretty well broke even on the annual horse betting day. I was up at my usual time of 7 and while not normally showered and dressed until about 10.30, I was ready to go out for a newspaper for the form guide by 9. Yes, it can all be done online and there are many betting apps, but given it is once a year, I can't be bothered with them.

In years past, it was a journey across the road to buy a paper but this year it was two tram stop trip and back. We had thought ahead to buy the betting cards to fill in. I would then walk up the street and turn into the first corner to walk a little further and place our bets at the TAB. Now our nearest TAB is Prahran. We had just missed a tram so we decide to drive. Even so, we arrived after the first race and R's slow start to the day meant significant loss as his chosen horse for Race 1 won with quite odds.

(Later, R lost half his betting outlay and I doubled my outlay)

I have a love hate with horse racing and the Melbourne Cup. Horses die when racing and they have in the Melbourne Cup race. Racing is dangerous for jockeys, with some at times being killed or very badly injured. If it is true that the flood wall at the racecourse meant houses were flooded, that is appalling. 

Some of you may remember former blogger Brownie. Today on FB she posted a photo of herself at Melbourne Cup very many years ago. To the post she added some text from the book Sht Towns of Australia, referring to Melbourne Cup. Have a laugh, but humour can be close to truth.

Australasia’s pre-eminent public horse-abuse holiday, the Melbourne Cup is the only iconic sporting event where you can eat the losers. Internationally renowned as ‘the race that stops a nation’, the trophy has been won by a slew of famous nags such as Phar Lap, Makybe Diva and a donkey on meth. Most of the horses are owned by truly objectionable people like minor royals, oil sheikhs and property developers.
Despite its pretension towards sophistication, horseracing is basically bullfights for the bourgeois, an excuse for suburbanites to dress a bit fancy and watch a midget flog half a tonne of future dog roll while losing a week’s wages on a poorly constructed trifecta. The Melbourne Cup is traditionally marked with a massive orgy of public spewing and fighting, something it shares with other national holidays such as Australia Day and Russell Crowe’s birthday. Post-race news coverage is dominated by footage of shitfaced tradies collapsing into hedges and ruining their best court suits, as well as half-cut slags fishing piss-soaked fascinators out of the gutter. It’s the race that stops a nation’s brains working.


28 comments:

  1. Brownie is on the money. Sadly.
    And as an aside, I ensured that our garbage bins were out early on Cup Day, suspecting that the garbos would rush through their day so they could knock off in time for the cup. I was right.

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    1. Well done that girl for second guessing the garbos.

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  2. The quoted statements are reflective of the reality. These racehorses often die young with no humane treatments after retirement. Even in my workplace, a free ticket to the event is seen as a "privilege" for which I care less about.

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    1. Ro, apparently winning horses are treated well to the end of their lives, but the losers, not so much. I am pleased you don't take the drug company complimentary ticket to The Cup.

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  3. I have never understood the need to bet on some animal being flogged around a track or made to chase a non-existent (we hope) rabbit. But then some people will bet on raindrops trickling down a window.
    The description of the Cup is spot on. It's Blokes Day today - bring on the half-cut slags!

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    1. Succinctly put Caro. How did the change to Blokes Day happen? I have missed something.

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    2. All the half cut slags staggering home clutching their shoes became a thing for the fellas to look at - hence blokes day rather than oaks day.

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  4. Brownie knows what's what. I never knew her as a blogger. I don't place bets on the cup anymore. I did in my twenties and had a five year lucky streak and then I quit betting and switched to Lotto where I'm still losing :(

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    1. We seem to have agreement with Brownie, River. I only bet small and so never win much. Large betters may win at times, but they don't stop and end up losing.

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  5. Cup day can be a tragic day for sure. Brownie put it well.
    As far as I know the whip isn't used as it once was, so that's a good thing. I totally forgot about cup day this year.

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    1. Margaret, you are correct about the whip but why is it used at all? Leg pressure and other messages can be sent to the horse to run at its fastest. The race the stops the mainland but not our island state. 😉

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  6. Racehorses are right there with circus animals. It's something you saw nothing wrong with when you were younger--I've bet on horses--but now gives you second thoughts.

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    1. Quite so Kirk. There is lot we thought little about when we were young that we now think differently about.

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  7. I hate race horses, it's just like the Spanish bull fights ! Race horses are often only exploited until they are useless and then finish as food, that's disgusting (of course not all, but there are scrupulous owners) The Jokey I don't care, he choose this as a profession.

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    1. Gattina, I will say bullfighting is a step above horse racing in cruelty stakes but I note your point. Are jockeys like film stunt people? Their job has a high risk of injury or death?

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  8. I particularly liked "ruining their best court suits." Mind you, I'm no better. Where else than court would you wear a suit? I suppose funerals (of other people) are a possibility (though people often request other dress codes these days(. I've passed the age for weddings.

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    1. I'm a bit slow at times MC. I didn't quite get the 'court suits' until you mentioned it. I thought it was like a pair of court style shoes.

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  9. Puts me in mind of the gryhound racing in my home city of Cork. A madness of betting. And gawd those poor dogs, in modern times being rescued all over the place from their dismal awful lives. Us humans will race any animal for a buck. And those bullfights. We're so primitive and barbaric.
    XO
    WWW

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    1. M, in some ways I think greyhound racing is worse, especially as it known the dogs are at times trained with live bait and at times are rewarded with a live catch. Slowly slowly, the world is changing for the better.

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  10. I don't follow horse racing except in the Spring when we have "The Kentucky Derby", " ‎Preakness Stakes", and "The Belmont Stakes". Our Triple Crown, should the horse and rider win all three. I find it very exciting!

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    1. Maribeth, I've only heard of the Kentucky Derby. Winning all three must be quite and achievement.

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  11. Brownie's description gave me a few chuckles. I have never seen any live horse racing - apart from on the TV but my son's girlfriend's parents own twenty five racehorses. Unlike me they are wealthy but I am not jealous - not one tiny bit!

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    1. YP, they must be very wealthy to own twenty five racehorses. They are terribly expensive to keep and race.

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  12. That last commentary is very funny. "ruining their best court suits", "donkey on meth". It's a great read on the strange strange world of sanctioned animal abuse. The crime drama books by ex English jockey Dick Francis opened my eyes to the complexity of the industry. Lots of money to be made, all so others can lose it on bets.

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    1. Strayer, it has always been corrupt as hell bringing in police and the legal system as well. If you are inclined, have a check of the Fine Cotton horse, who was painted.

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    2. Oh my. I read up on Fine Cotton and the ring in Bold Personality, that looked nothing like Fine Cotton, and the amatuer attempt to color him like Fine Cotton with hair color, then white paint. And they thought they'd get away with it? There were a couple of the Francis books that featured substitution plots. I didn't know before reading the Francis books about race stewards, bloodstock agents, owners that buy horses but rarely see them except on race day because they go to stables for training and care....big industry, lots of places for corruption. I had no idea.

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  13. I once witnessed a retired Greyhound racing dog who wouldn't set foot on anything but a carpeted floor. Animal abuse angers me like nothing else.

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    1. Me too Darla. I can't really watch animal cruelty stories.

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