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.