Once heralded “the race that stops a nation” and a traditional aspect of Australian life, the country’s most prestigious horse race is being staged this year surrounded by heightened controversy.
At 3pm on the first Tuesday of November - a public holiday in Victoria - Australians will once again gather in their homes, offices, at the bookmakers and the tracks to watch 20 of the world’s best racehorses battle it out for $8 million in prize money.
Six racehorses have died as a result of the Melbourne Cup since 2013, a fact pushed by animal welfare groups encouraging punters to boycott the event.
In horseracing more broadly, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses found 122 horses had died on Australian tracks in one year.
