Celebrating the first past the post
Monday, 25 October 2010
Australia Post will celebrate the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup with the release of a new commemorative stamp issue on 1 November 2010 at the historic Flemington post office. The set of four stamps feature three significant and much-loved winners of the race and the Emirates Melbourne Cup trophy itself.
The featured winners are Carbine, who, just before the severe economic collapse of the 1890s, emerged as the 1890 Cup winner and became one of Australia's greatest race horses ever; Phar Lap, who won in 1930 and was embraced as the "equine saviour", lifting the spirits of the nation as it felt the bite of the Great Depression; and Saintly, known as the "Horse from Heaven" and trained by Bart Cummings, the man who defines the modern era of the Melbourne Cup, who triumphed in 1996.
"The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) has been delighted to work collaboratively with Australia Post in bringing about this special event stamp issue celebrating the 150th running of our great race - the 2010 Emirates Melbourne Cup.
"There have been many events and initiatives designed to appropriately celebrate this significant milestone. The stamp issue is one of which we are extremely proud and will attract racing and non-racing people alike.
"We are delighted that our thoroughbred champions and our historic three-handled loving Cup have been so beautifully portrayed," explained VRC Chairman, Mr Rod Fitzroy.
The Melbourne Cup has been raced annually at Flemington Racecourse since 1861. Its popularity arose from its handicap conditions in a race run over two miles, now 3,200 metres, for horses of at least three years of age. This made the Melbourne Cup open to all runners, and so it had the capacity to bring together people from diverse social backgrounds. Before long, it became known as "the race that stops a nation".
The first Melbourne Cup was run in front of a crowd of around 4,000 and was won by Archer, ridden by John Cutts and trained by New South Welshman Etienne de Mestre, who went on to train five Cup winners. In the early years, the prize was £930 with no official trophy; today, the total prize money - paid to the first 10 horses past the post - is $6 million and the famed gold cup is worth $150,000. This makes the Emirates Melbourne Cup the world's richest handicap horse race.
The trophy has seen many changes through the years, but a new 18-carat gold cup has been crafted for the 2010 Emirates Melbourne Cup, which embraces the future by acknowledging the past. It is based on the trophy awarded for Phar Lap's win in 1930.
The 150th Melbourne Cup stamp issue is available for purchase from 1 November at participating Australia Post retail outlets, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps while stocks last.
Australia Post is also producing a number of limited-edition collector items, which will be available after the Melbourne Cup event. For more details on these items, go to auspost.com.au/impressions.
