Monday, 17 March 2008: The Victoria Racing Club has announced additions to the entry and ballot conditions for the 2008 Emirates Melbourne Cup covering both local and international races.
For the first time the winner of the weight-for-age L'Oreal Paris Mackinnon Stakes, run at Flemington three days before the Melbourne Cup, will be added to the iist of horses exempt from a Cup ballot if a final acceptor.
As the Mackinnon Stakes is a non-handicap of less than 2300 metres the winner will remain not liable for a weight penalty.
Japan's Tenno Sho (Spring) (also known as the Emperor's Cup) and run over the Cup distance of 3200m in May has also been added to the list of ballot exempt races (winner only).
In a major chnage to ballot conditoions the second and third placegetters in the current year's Cox Plate and Mackinnon Stakes respectively will pass the first ballot clause for the Melbourne Cup.
However this benefit will not guarantee a horse a Melbourne Cup start if it is lowly weighted.
The Caulfield Cup takes on even grater importance as a qualifying race as 6th, 7th & 8th placegetters will also pass the first ballot clause for the Melbourne Cup.
This also will not guarantee a horse a Cup start if it is lowly weighted.
The VRC noted that the fourth and fifth placegetters in the 2008 Caulfield Cup had already satisfied the 2008 Emirates Melbourne Cup ballot clause by having earned $60,000 or more in a flat race of 2300 metres or further since 1 August 2006.
VRC chief executive Dale Monteith said the chnages were an important step in the development of the Melbourne Cup.
"The VRC Board has been proactive in its role to ensure that the Emirates Melbourne Cup race conditions continue to be both fair and relevant, as the evolution of this great race as the staying championship of the world continues," Monteith said.
"These changes certainly reflect the Board's determination in that regard.
"Overall, the Emirates Melbourne Cup conditions are designed to attract the best possible field from Australia and overseas and to provide fair opportunity for each horse to secure a start according to its race performance history."
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 | | Posted by tigerrish, on 19-3-2008 6:28:11 PM
trunchojin: There are more than enough staying races in the spring for the amount of stayers we have: Melb Cup, Caulfield Cup, MV Cup, Saab Quality, QE Stakes, Sandown Classic. Problem is that most of the trainers eye the biggest prize instead of being realistic and target one of the others.
While the gazillions of dollars are poured into races like the Golden Slipper and all the Magic Millions races, staying races outside the MC and CC will always play a minor role
njh: If the VRC did what you suggested we would have a bunch of provincial horses racing for a million.
How many trainers with horses who havent quite qualified for the MC and arent going well enough to win it, will push on for a start in a race that they have no chance in when they can hold back for a consolation million? ”
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| | Posted by truchojin, on 18-3-2008 2:08:32 PM
Good idea njh, and there should be more decent staying races & Horses! i mean how can you hold the worlds premier 3200m race and only have mediocre at home competitors?? there are very few good stayers in australia, Lloyd Williams owns most of them and the rest probably came from NZ! ”
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| | Posted by maccamax, on 18-3-2008 1:42:46 PM
Don't ever interfere with the Melbourne Cup or it will lose the Stop The Nation appeal it is known for world wide ....The make it WFA brigade are way out and blinded by self interest ....Glorified Welter or the Home of hacks , whatever the knockers want to call it, our Cup is still one of the great races of the world and will remain that way until some doe doe changes something...You saw the outcry when they bogged the track to suit the Diva and now that cup is remembered more for the farce than the great event ..Like Fine Cotton those things dont ever go away....Leave it alone it is doing good as it is .. ”
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| | Posted by tigerrish, on 18-3-2008 8:25:58 AM
njh: Think thats what the QE Stakes does, group 2 run over 2500m. Alot of horses who dont make the MC field run in that or the Sandown Classic. ”
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| | Posted by njh, on 17-3-2008 1:58:55 PM
In taking these important steps to develop the Cup as the world's premier 2M race, the VRC should consider fostering with trainers et al the idea of a Cup consolation, also run over 2M, for perhaps $1.0 million, for stayers that prepare for the Cup, only to miss out on the final field of 24 cut. ”
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