The Melbourne Cup 2024

See something for the first time, then see it again a day later. We are connected.

Due to the rebuilding of Belmont racetrack, they are racing at Saratoga for 4 days in June, surrounding the Belmont Stakes on Saturday June 8. The Belmont Stakes race will be run this year and next year at Saratoga at 1¼ miles rather than 1½ due to the configuration of the Saratoga track. To run a 1½ mile race at Saratoga they'd have to start on a sharp turn, something no one is willing to schedule. A 1¼ race can start in front of the stands at the top of the top of the stretch, like the Alabama and the Travers.

Thee is however no problem starting a 2 mile turf race at Saratoga. It's a rarely distance in the States, but the conditions of the $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup call for it. The field usually consists of many Europeans horses who relish that distance. Thursday's race was no exception.

Graham Motion is as classy a trainer as you can get, specializing in racing European horses here in the States. Christophe Clement is a French-bred trainer who races here, winning with many turf horses.

The Fox Sports broadcasters on FS1/FS2 showed this fairly large gold trophy cup—The Melbourne Cup—as emblematic of the race the winner of the upcoming Belmont Gold Cup winner will be invited to November Down Under.

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's Kentucky Derby. It's a big affair, and the cup is put on tour in various cities all over the Northern Hemisphere and Asia to create interest in the race and promote the win-and-you're-in invitation, much like our Breeders' Cup win-and-you're-in races.

The Melbourne Cup race is a Group 1 for 3-year-olds and up thoroughbreds, run on the turf at 3200 meters, which translates to 1 mile and 740 yards, or simply put, just under 1½ miles, on the first Tuesday on November at the Flemington Race Course. Most people are off from work and school that day. The total purse is A$8.4 million, with the winner getting easily over A$4 million.

The cup itself goes on tour in Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, New York, logging over 1 million km. in its appearances. Saratoga was host to the cup on Thursday, June 6, for the Golden Ticket to the winner of the Belmont Gold Cup. 

The Belmont Gold Cup race was as exciting a turf race as they come, that even after two miles it was a photo finish, won by the Graham Motion trained The Grey Wizard, beating my selection, Champagne Juan, trained by Christophe Clement by a nose. A flared nostril really.

Graham Motion was surprised and ecstatic at the win, paying $14.40 to win. Asked if he'll now go to Melbourne he gave it a qualified yes.

So much for my first introduction to the Cup. On Friday I was in Manhattan getting a haircut with my long-time barber at a shop he's now in called Déjà vu on 34th Street, just south of Park Avenue on the Northeast side.

It's a street level shop with a clear view of 34th Street, when at some point I look to my left and see a scrum of people kneeling and taking pictures with their phones. Since the Empire State building is visible from that location I fully thought that it was the building they were taking  pictures of. Nope.

Different people kept coming and going into the scrum, so I really wondered what was up. One of the barbers went out to see, but being Russian he gave no clue as to what the fuss was about. 

When I exited the building I could see  what the commotion was. A very stately 6' model dressed in a very 1940s look with a cartwheel hat with a dangling feather was being vigorously photographed by a pair of kneeling professional photographers. Her gloved hands were holding what looked like a gold trophy. She was smiling and preening for the cameras.

I was headed in her direction anyway and couldn't resist asking her if she won the Belmont Stakes. I knew it wasn't the Belmont trophy, put I also didn't know it was the Melbourne Cup, the object of so much attention just the day before at Saratoga.

She paused just long enough while still preening and smiling to answer me that it was, "The Melbourne Cup." "Ah," I said, and kept walking.

At that point, she, myself and the photographers were probably the only people who knew what she was holding and what it meant.

I kicked myself later for not doubling back to take her picture, since it didn't seem she was in a hurry to go anywhere. I'm just not a cell phone guy. Thus, I have no photo of her to offer for this posting.

The link given above at the word Saratoga takes you to a 4 minute YouTube video on the Melbourne Cup at Saratoga, as well as a replay of the Belmont Gold Cup. An Australian guest race caller Matt Hill called the Saratoga race.

And when the results of The Belmont Stakes were official on Saturday, I had something in common with the model. I didn't win the Belmont either, finishing second with Mindframe.

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