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Old 17th April 2020, 03:12 PM
walkermac walkermac is offline
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Posts: 596
Default Melbourne Cup 2020

Inside a month 'til the 2020 Andrew Ramsden, the race that gives ballot exemption in the Melbourne Cup to the winner. It will be taking place on May 16th on the Flemington racecourse.

Of $320,000. 1st $192,000, 2nd $57,600, 3rd $28,800, 4th $14,400, 5th $8,000, 6th $6,400, 7th $6,400, 8th $6,400
Prize money contribution totalling 3% will be directed to jockey and equine welfare prior to distribution Listed
No class restriction, Standard Weight for Age, Three-Years-Old, Four-Years-Old and Five-Years-Old, No sex restriction

Nominations close May 11th.

Last year's race saw a ding dong battle between Steel Prince and Surprise Baby. The former took the win but both ended up in the final Melbourne Cup field. Surprise Baby @ $12 finished the best of the pair in 5th 0.9L with Steel Prince - who had struggled to find form since his Spring return - coming in 9th 2.1L @ $61. They were the only two to progress from the Andrew Ramsden to The Cup.

Re-watch last year's Ramsden here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YsfrIGsXys

Complicating things a wee bit is interstate travel. The current Racing Victoria regulations allow horses to travel but none of the staff. The horse must be placed in the care of a local trainer and in their stable by 9am the day prior to a race. What does that mean for splitting prizemoney? Also, unless transported by an approved company, anyone else who does so won't be permitted access to Victorian racecourses for 14 days. Is this going to impact entries from NSW?


Racing is currently suspended in England, France, Germany, Ireland, Dubai and New Zealand. It remains to be seen how those suspensions will effect nominations for the Melbourne Cup. A lot will depend on when racing can begin in each of those respective countries. The qualification period for performances is quite a large one though: from 1st February 2019, if the Race Conditions remain similar to last year's.

Glancing through the first 2019 Order of Entry (https://cdn.racing.com/-/media/rv/2...ry-september-12) and quite a lot of European entrants qualified in races from June through to August. British Racing announced that their activities will remain suspended until at least the end of this month, to be reviewed again as time passes. If the races are held eventually then someone will have to win them, only perhaps with not the same polish as in previous years.

International air freight is still operating, so the horses could get here and the major stables would likely be keen to race for big money. Is the prize going to be as big though? There's little chance of a huge crowd coming through the turnstiles and given that 50% of betting turnover is via from pubs, clubs and TAB agencies, then there may be less in the kitty. Minimum prizemoney for Victorian races has already been reduced by 20% on Metro courses. Overseas stables are likely to be doing it tough as well, horses still need care and staff paid, but there's no prizemoney coming in to offset those costs; they may be less willing to take on a hugely expensive risk.

Depending on how long restrictions go on and where, there could be few to no Northern Hemisphere 3yos, less internationals and more local starters in The Cup. That may sound great if you're a nationalist, but given that Australia has few genuine horses over distance, it's as likely to turn it into another sit-and-sprint coin flip.

And that's all presuming that we can continue to keep COVID-19 under control in Australia. We've been remarkably lucky and it's undoubtedly bred some complacency. Our current success could also mean that we have pushed the disease peak later in the year, given how few people have caught it the first time around. Whatever occurs it would seem unlikely that the Melbourne Cup would be cancelled but it could be the most interesting lead-up for quite a while!
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