Melbourne Cup (greyhounds)

The Melbourne Cup is the world's richest and most prestigious greyhound race.

Run over 515m at Sandown Park in Melbourne, Australia, the Cup was first run in 1956 and was worth £500 to the winner. In 2012, the race will carry a winner's cheque of $350,000, with the final carrying a total of $500,000. The race is the final event of the three-week Superdogs series which carries over $1 million in total prize money.

History

Some of Australian greyhound racing's most memorable moments and most significant events have occurred in the Melbourne Cup. A short history of the event:

1956 - First Melbourne Cup staged at Sandown Park on the grass track over 565 yards under handicap conditions worth £500
1962 - Race worth £2000; race won by Saskagay, the first bitch to win the race
1964 - A sand track is installed, resulting in the race distance being reduced to 555 yards
1966 - First Melbourne Cup not conducted under handicap conditions; Cheltenham Lass wins the event after finishing second in 1965
1967 - Neville Ballinger trains the Cup quinella with Swan Opal and Dollar Hunter
1970 - Chris’ Dandy wins the Melbourne Cup for trainer Alex Kay, the fourth consecutive winner from New South Wales
1972 - Gold grotto wins against a field often considered one of the best ever assembled to line up in a Melbourne Cup starting at the shortest price favourite ever.
1973 - Race reduced to 513 metres
1974 - New Zealand-bred Kwik Metal upstages locals by claiming the 1974 Melbourne Cup after being bought for $30 as a pup
1975 - Prize money increases to $11,500 to the winner; Dynamic Dean is later crowned the 1975 Greyhound of the Year, the first Melbourne Cup winner to receive the honour
1978 - Prize money increased to $35,000 to the winner; Hollywood star Robert Stack presents trophy
1979 - Hollywood starlet Elke Sommer presents trophy
1980 - Sandown gives away a silver Mercedes to celebrate 25th running of the event; Greg Norman presents the Cup
1986 - Race distance reduced to 511 metres following Sandown Park track reconstruction
1990 - Prize money increased to $40,000 to the winner
1991 - Prize money increased to $50,000 to the winner
1992 - Schweppes begins Cup sponsorship; Master Giant wins the Cup, becoming the fourth consecutive winner to take out the Shepparton Cup-Melbourne Cup double
1995 - Prize money increased to $80,000 to the winner; race distance increased to 515m following construction of new Sandown circuit
1996 - Prize money increased to $100,000 to the winner
1998 - Rapid Journey adds the Melbourne Cup to his Adelaide Cup, Perth Cup, Golden Easter Egg, National Sprint Championship and Topgun wins
1999 - Graeme Bate trains the trifecta, winning his third Melbourne Cup with Kantarn Bale
2002 - Prize money increased to $140,000 to the winner
2004 - Prize money increased to $150,000 to the winner
2005 - Closing Argument wins the 50th running of the Cup; Bonshaw Boy completes the quinella for trainer Cameron Taylor
2006 - Betty’s Angel completes the Group 1 ADVANCE Sapphire Crown – Schweppes Melbourne Cup double, setting a new race record of 29.51 in the process
2008 - Prize money increased to $175,000 to the winner; Surgeon controversially gives trainer Darren McDonald a third Solo Melbourne Cup winner in five years
2009 - Lord Ducal, the least experienced runner in the final, registers 29.53 to give owner, trainer and breeder Jon and Jenny Roberts their biggest thrill in greyhound racing
2010 - El Grand Senor scores his third Group 1 feature of 2010 with a dominant performance for owner/breeder Carolyne Jones; El Grand Senor would go on to claim Sandown Greyhound of the Year, Victorian Greyhound of the Year, and Australian Greyhound of the Year honours
2011 - Dyna Tron secures Andrea Dailly her first Solo Melbourne Cup victory in a race record 29.21 seconds; Dyna Tron was one of four finalists prepared by the Dailly kennel, with Graeme Bate also preparing three finalists to give leviathan owner/breeder Paul Wheeler seven finalists in the race.
2011 - Prize money increased to $350,000 to the winner making the 2012 Melbourne Cup the richest greyhound race ever run

Conditions

The final of the Melbourne Cup involves the winners of eight heats conducted the previous week.

In order for a greyhound to qualify for the Melbourne Cup heats, they must win an 'exemption race' - a Group 1 sprint race, a Victorian country cup (except the Healesville Cup) or a group race at Sandown Park 515m - in the 12 months preceding the Melbourne Cup final.

The previous year's Melbourne Cup winner and all finalists in the 'Shootout,' a four-dog winner-takes-all event the week prior to the Melbourne Cup heats, also qualify for the Melbourne Cup heats, as do the winners of a Melbourne Cup Preliude.

Melbourne Cup Preludes are conducted every two weeks, with the final Prelude series conducted on the same night as the Shootout. Melbourne Cup Preludes were first conducted in 1995.

Remaining places in the Melbourne Cup heats are awarded to the best performed greyhounds that have competed in at least one Melbourne Cup Prelude series.

There is no entry fee to nominate for the Melbourne Cup series.

Prize money

Melbourne Cup Prize money has grown considerably since the first running of the Cup in 1956.

In April 2012, Greyhound Racing Victoria announced a $6 million increase to prize money, including $450,000 to feature events at Sandown Park. This allowed the club to significantly increase the prize money for the Melbourne Cup, as well as several other feature races. All Group 1 events at Sandown Park will now carry a minimum $100,000 first prize.

1956 500 pounds to the winner
1964 $1000
1971 $8000
1975 $11,500
1978 $35,000
1990 $40,000
1991 $50,000
1994 $55,000
1995 $80,000
1996 $100,000
2002 $140,000
2005 $150,000
2008 $175,000
2011 $200,000
2012 $350,000

The Melbourne Cup winner also collects a gold trophy and presentation rug.

Records

Wins by state

Most wins by trainers

Graeme Bate (3 winners): Satan’s Shroud (1981), Fair Sentence (1989), Kantarn Bale (1999)
Darren McDonald (3 winners): Hallucinate (2004), Shanlyn Prince (2007), Surgeon (2008)

Wins by sex

Dogs 45
Bitches 11

Race Records

Fastest time - 29.21 (Dyna Tron, 2011, 29.21)
Biggest margin - 9 lengths (Fox Hunt, 1991)
Smallest margin - Neck (Chief Ranee 1960, Chris’ Dandy 1970, Black Aztec 1980, City Blitz 1995)
Longest priced winner - Classic Capri $25.90 (2001)
Shortest priced winner - Gold Grotto 2/1on (1972)

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