up for the cup

Had the Melbourne cup been about 500m shorter I would have won the sweep with my pick, the New Zealand horse Zabeat. It ran out of steam and finished out of the places and Delta Blues won. It is a long race at 3200m, though shorter than the 3218m it was before Australia went decimal. Sally won $180 and Stephen, who sits next to me at work got a bit back with his second placing. And while I type this I am told that my horse actually came LAST and therefore I get $4 back. So I won $2.

The Melbourne Cup is the crown jewel of the Australian racing calendar is is known as "the race that stops a nation". Not that it takes much to encourage your average Aussie to down tools for anything from the 4minutes of the race to a rest of the afternoon (pub of no return after the 3pm race) or the whole of the afternoon. Although the race is in Melbourne - where the day is a public holiday in the City - Sydney also goes mad. The city has loads of women in posh frocks and useless hats, lots of whom are heading to the Domain where a big screen sits behind a fence within which there is a "do" of sorts. Worldwide lad wear is in evidence with spikey hair, oversized sunglasses and crisp shirts hanging untucked over smart trousers and shiny shoes. Yes, it is a work day, and yes, it is a horse race. Weird.

At lunch time I went into a bank branch and at the head of the queue, by the "queue here" sign was a tele, racing on. In the middle of Martin Place in the centre of the City there were betting office (TAB) marquees with big queues of office workers waiting patiently in line to part with their money. And in our office, on our floor, around 75% of the workers, myself included, downed tools to watch the race. Not sure what was going on with the other 25% but I suspect they would not pass a department of immigration test of adherence to Australian values. Don't get me wrong, it was very exciting and it is VERY Australian, but it is a work day and it is a horse race. Weird. In a country where there is massive number of problem gamblers relative to head of population. However, the Melbourne Cup is, well, very special. I ahve no idea what else is going on in the world today as the cup trumps all other news.

After the race meet completes they are ripping up the Flemington track and relaying it. So, if you wanted to, you could go to the track on Sunday, grab some turf and use it in your garden. I think that is quite cool (maybe a bit nerdy? It would make a fantastic Christmas present for my Dad, shame he's in England.) That according to a groundsman interviewed on Channel 7 SUnrise this morning. I'm amazed they are not flogging it off (assuming they aren't...and by this weekend they probably will be...)