The Spring Racing Carnival is the name of an Australian Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually in Melbourne during October and November.

The Carnival and its status in the wider community

Although racing in Australia is held every day except Good Friday and Christmas Day, the Group One races in Melbourne are held almost exclusively throughout the carnival, which is traditionally placed between the football and cricket seasons. During the winter (where football is dominant), and summer (where cricket is dominant), racing takes a 'back seat' position in relation to the cricket or football in terms of media coverage and attendances. However, in spring and autumn, the mass media turns its attention to the racing. There is also an Autumn Racing Carnival, a time where Group One races are also held.

Economic impact

The Spring Racing Carnival is a major contributor to the Victorian economy. According to a study conducted by market research company IER, the 2022 Spring Racing Carnival was estimated to have delivered $422.1 million in gross economic benefit to Victoria in 2022, with the Spring Racing Carnival contributing more than $3.6 billion in gross economic benefit to Victoria in the past decade, almost $1 billion more than the Australian Open tennis reported for the same period.[1][2][3]

The 2017 Spring Racing Carnival injected $444.5 million into the Victorian economy, and created jobs for more than 20,000 staff and contractors, in addition to providing boosts to the retail and hospitality sectors.[4]

The 2018 Spring Racing Carnival provided an economic return to the state of $447.6 million, with the event also directly employing more than 21,000 staff and contractors who worked for more than 800 companies in the lead-up and during the event.[5]

The 2019 Spring Racing Carnival has been credited with injecting US$196.2 million directly into the Victorian economy; when considering total spending by all attendees at the Spring Racing Carnival, the event generated a gross economic benefit of US$521.8 million.[6]

Attendance[7]

Year Derby Day Melbourne Cup Oaks Stakes Melbourne Cup Carnival Total Caulfield Cup[8] Cox Plate[9]
202373,05625,12121,000
202271,32773,81645,04654,019244,20824,28919,000
20215,00010,00010,00010,00035,00000
20200000000
201980,21481,40857,29657,268276,18628,00024,648
201891,19483,47161,35567,567303,58730,00038,035
201787,52690,53663,67368,873310,60830,00032,617
201690,13697,47960,88870,351318,85426,000
201585,943101,01557,56068,711313,22930,00027,620
201490,244100,79464,43070,051325,51932,00028,216
201395,223104,16966,75765,047331,19633,05630,986
201298,823106,16271,82574,546351,35635,500
201192,336105,97971,65985,112355,08630,09730,000
201090,361110,22375,08877,506353,17823,69731,546
2009108,178102,16180,11278,478368,92943,21031,000
2008117,776107,28089,33881,652396,04651,32834,000
2007115,705102,41195,23084,067397,41348,52934,561
2006129,089106,691104,13178,158418,069[10]47,551[11]34,256[12]
2005115,660106,479100,26361,382383,78452,00044,189[13]
2004115,54298,161110,67745,734370,11451,01532,187
200397,059122,736101,17955,793376,76746,87330,109
2002101,898102,533103,26947,593355,293
200193,02992,477101,20142,760329,467
200092,581121,01596,40642,311352,313
199976,514104,02883,87031,728296,140
199875,805100,60777,30131,249284,962
199764,52894,14375,48226,357260,510
199664,09990,14967,08625,736247,070
199560,40474,84362,38825,318222,953
199454,46781,65050,17622,624208,917
199349,02974,76646,74422,162192,701
199245,72986,20650,92521,495204,355
199146,78194,63254,02322,587218,023
199047,49792,53650,19621,414211,643
198947,22696,72251,67323,712219,333
198844,84893,44048,49023,341210,119
198741,87881,01245,32922,196190,415
198642,82487,12942,64921,051193,653
198540,52279,12639,05118,675177,374
198439,77182,74040,81219,739183,062
198340,01780,77638,63322,162181,588
198242,51991,15237,02819,725190,424
198139,72987,64137,35324,378189,101
198038,032101,26137,09825,262201,653

Sweeps

The carnival, and particularly the Melbourne Cup attracts the interest of many people otherwise uninterested in horse racing, and special forms of very low-stake gambling are often used for this event. One common form for groups such as office staff is the "sweep", where each participant adds a small fee to a "pot" and draws the name of a horse like a raffle. Prize money is distributed to the person who draws the winning horse (occasionally smaller prizes are awarded to placegetters and the last-placing horse). A more complex and high-stakes form of the sweep is the "Calcutta", often held as a fundraising event for community organisations, which begins as in the sweep (though usually with a much higher initial stake), but which allows ticket holders to trade their tickets through an auction system.

Special guests

For the fashion part of the Spring Racing Carnival many special guests over the years have come to the races. Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton, Carson Kressley, Eva Longoria, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Naomi Campbell, Nicole Kidman, Gigi Hadid and Hilary Swank.

Carnival race meetings

The Spring Racing Carnival is made up of meetings held by the metropolitan clubs, where Group One races take place, and also at Geelong and Bendigo. With numerous group races during August and September at metropolitan tracks Flemington, Caulfield and Moonee Valley, the Spring Racing Carnival officially starts on the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes Day at Flemington, one week after the AFL Grand Final. The Spring Racing Carnival officially ends on the final day of the carnival at Sandown in mid-November.

Caulfield Carnival

The Melbourne Racing Club holds three race meetings at Caulfield Racecourse, each with major Group one races.

Geelong Carnival

The Geelong Racing Club hosts its Group 3 Geelong Cup at the Geelong Racecourse on the Wednesday between the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate. The meeting also has a couple of Listed races, The 3YO Geelong Classic and The Rosemont Stud Stakes. The day is a public holiday in Geelong's metropolitan area.

Moonee Valley Carnival

The Moonee Valley Racing Club holds a two-day carnival at the Moonee Valley Racecourse. The Manikato Stakes is held on the Friday night following the Caulfield Cup. The club's highlight is the Weight for Age Cox Plate race held on the next day with a host of other Group races including the Moonee Valley Gold Cup, Crystal Mile and Moonee Valley Vase.

Bendigo Carnival

The Bendigo Jockey Club hosts its Group 3 Bendigo Cup on the Wednesday between the Cox Plate and the VRC Derby Day.

Melbourne Cup Carnival

The Victoria Racing Club's meetings attract the most attention from the media and the wider community.

  • The Victoria Derby is held on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup. It is a set-weights race for three-year-old horses. Other well known races on this day include the Cantala Stakes, Empire Rose Stakes and Hotham Handicap (the winner of this receiving a final spot in the Melbourne Cup field). Traditionally, the Melbourne Cup field is announced following the conclusion of the last race on this day.
  • The Melbourne Cup[14] handicap race is held on the first Tuesday in November, and is a public holiday in Melbourne, but the Cup is witnessed by those all around Australia as well as internationally.
  • The VRC Oaks race is held on the Thursday following the Cup. It is a three-year-old fillies race, and traditionally the race meeting has been known as 'ladies' day'.
  • The Mackinnon Stakes is held on the Saturday following the Oaks, and traditionally it has been known as 'family day'. Other notable races run on this day are the VRC Sprint Classic and VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Sandown Carnival

The Melbourne Racing Club holds the last official meeting of the Spring Racing Carnival at Sandown Racecourse. This day includes the Group 2 Sandown Guineas and the Group 2 Zipping Classic and occurs in mid November, one week after Mackinnon Stakes day.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL REMAINS THE BIGGEST ECONOMIC GENERATOR IN AUSTRALIAN SPORT". SEN. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  2. ↑ Rolfe, Peter. "Melbourne Cup carnival tops the list of financial generators, delivering $3.6bn for Vic economy". Herald Sun. News Corp. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Melbourne Cup Carnival remains the biggest economic generator in Australian sport". Victorian Racing Club. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Melbourne Cup Carnival Keeps Victoria Ahead Of The Pack". Premier of Victoria. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Melbourne Cup Carnival generates record economic return for Victoria". Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "VICTORIAN SPRING RACING CARNIVAL - MAJOR RACING EVENTS AND TOURISM" (PDF). ASIAN RACING FEDERATION JURISDICTIONS – AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Track records and attendances". Victorian Racing Club. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Caulfield Racecourse Crowds". Austadiums. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Moonee Valley Racecourse Crowds". Austadiums. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  10. ↑ Cup Carnival Crowd Record Smashed
  11. ↑ Tawqeet brings BMW Caulfield Cup glory for Hayes and Dunn
  12. ↑ MVRC News Archive – Moonee Valley Racing Club
  13. ↑ Economic Benefits Summary
  14. ↑ "Melbourne Cup 2018 | Horses, Field, Race Time, Results & Form Guide". www.racenet.com.au. Retrieved 2018-08-08.

Bibliography

  • Power, Emily, ed. (2012). Fashion & Flemington: Celebrating 50 years of Fashions on the Field. Richmond, Vic.: Slattery Media Group. ISBN 9781921778599.
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