Melbourne Cup Day
It’s just too long between Melbourne Cup Days. A three minute horse race yes, but somehow it ranks very highly on my list of favourite days of the year (Which is probably topped by ANZAC Day).
What is it with me and days that I am guaranteed to finish with a lot less money than what I began with.
I’m hardly a big racing fan. When I was younger I used to scoff at the Cup, “it’s just a silly horse race”, I would say. How times change. Tomorrow morning I will commence my yearly ritual of strolling up to the newsagents prior to race 1 at 10:20 filled with excitement at the day ahead. A day of hard, relentless form guide studying (never to any avail), betting, watching, cheering and beers with mates. Sure, it sounds like a top day, but what sets it apart from a regular day at the pub? It’s history and importance to Australia is undisputed, but why am I so captivated?
Well mainly, it is that national connection. I am a very proud Aussie and the Melbourne Cup is a day that fills me with that pride. It encapsulates everything that is Australian. The mates, the punting, the beers – all on a weekday. And it’s better here in NSW – we need to chuck a sickie from work or say “bugger that” to uni in order to enjoy the day. So utterly Australian. The day is one that has been celebrated by Australians for 150 years and to be part of such a great tradition just feels so special.
Its the day we are all allowed to become experts at something we know nothing about and lets face it – nobody really knows who’s going to win the cup. Even every expert has a different opinion.
The build up is fantastic. Ordinary punters with no idea have heated debates about why the bay stallion wearing number 12 is a sure thing. Then at 3:04 its all about what happened and why they got it wrong.
With that I guess I should provide my own selections. Given my Cup history you should immediately cross these off your list.
10. Ethiopia
20. Lights of Heaven
But hell, I’ll probably change 100 times between now and 3:00pm tomorrow afternoon!