Wednesday, 15 November 2023

Ministers statements: Melbourne Cup Carnival

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Racing) (14:18): Racing is back. I rise to update the house on a stellar Melbourne Cup Carnival, an international major event – four days of great weather, great crowds and great racing. The Victoria Racing Club welcomed over 260,000 racegoers to Flemington across the cup carnival’s four days. Crowds were up on last year across the four race days. Cup Day itself saw a 15 per cent increase in attendees as 85,000 attended the Melbourne Cup at headquarters. A third successive state funding of the cup since the introduction of world-leading safety protocols by Racing Victoria and the VRC, including the most stringent pre-race screening process anywhere in the world, means every jockey is safe home after every race.

Melbourne is the major events capital of Australia. The Melbourne Cup was broadcast to 209 countries – 750 million eyes were watching – and 369 radio stations. The carnival will also be remembered as the finale of our greatest jockey – the GOAT, Damien Oliver. Ollie has ridden 129 group 1 winners, an Australian record, since his first ride way back in 1988, including three Melbourne Cups. It is a remarkable performance from a champion of the sport, and we wish him well. Across the carnival our hospo workers served 20,000 chicken sandwiches, 400 dozen oysters, 8000 scones and 20,000 cups of coffee. Our cup carnival generated some $422 million in gross economic benefit for our state, and the broader Spring Racing Carnival saw increases in crowds at the Cox Plate and the Caulfield Cup. We are not done yet – there are the Crannie Cup on Saturday week, with the member for Cranbourne and the member for Narre Warren North, and the Ballarat Cup on 9 December. The Allan Labor government is investing $15 million through the Major Events Fund to increase economic benefits to our state by showcasing premium Victorian racing. It builds on our state as the nation’s events capital, as we are here in Victoria – the leading major events capital in the world.