THE MELBOURNE CUP,

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 44

THE MELBOURNE CUP,

In the course of an article on the biggest handicap in Australasia, the Australasian - fcays' "When the Melbourne Cup was instituted in 1861 it was not~by any means the W* valuable -stake in Australia. Betting Wust have been the cause of its popularity, %a there were much' better prizes than a Sweepstake of 20sovs, with 200sovs added, frhiu was the Btake until 1865, when the Wner of Toryboy received a piece of plate, &*lue £WO, in addition to the money. In ' 0.€68 the added money was increased to fcoUU, »nd there was no further advance until (1876, when the added money was £500, and {Mr James |Blackwood gave ajjold Cup. lhe ntet change came in 1883, when the club jrave £1000, and the stake was worth £2657 fo Mr James White. When Arsenal won in &886 the added money was £2000, and then Ithe value of the race went up b^ leaps and ibonnds; £2500 was the sum in 1887, £3000 m - 4888 and £5000 in 1889. The sweep had ' now risen to £50. In 1890 the committee toiitrivalled the Sandown Park executive by .giving owners .£IO,OOO to race for in one Sake Tfao value to the winner, after tak- • in* out.^ooo for Highborn and £1000 for Correze, was £10.320! This is the record for- the raoe, and it is wise to know that the richest stake ever given in Australasia fell to Carbine, who in winning under 10.5 probably recorded the finest performance ever accomplished in a long-distance handicap in this or any other country. There were 39 stagers, tmd the winner gave a good horee like Highborn three stone all but three mounds. Carbine carried the record weight for -the race, it was the record field, and also the record rime. The horse was worth the money that year. The committee drew in their horns after the wet meeting in 1892, and in 189* the Cup was nominally worth JBSOOO. There was no sweepstake that year. Th»n we had a sweepstake of £25 with £3000 added, and under theae conditions the race ' easily held its own. The committee are only increasing the sweepstake to £30, and with £1000 to go to the second and £500 to the third, they are evidently bidding for a large £eld Under the new conditions the .Melfconrne Cup will put all other Australian races in the shade. Owners of a really good ihoi-Be will feel tempted to let the Metropolitan and Caulfield Cup pass by for the sake '©f a race like this. The Chester Cup is the 'only long-distance race in England that can '^TCn b«at the Sydney Cup in added money. „The company gives £2550 and the distance 'as two miles and a quarter. The Ascot Gold 'Cap is a piece of plate worth a thousand, : -4-mth £3000 added, but that is a weight-fcr-!««e! ««e Tace. Our Grand National Steeplechase Us still below the value of the Liverpool, ,-qthich is of » guaranteed value of £2000. ■ .^here are, of -course, much bigger stakes ■""'■•tfian these in England, but the shorter courses are win over. Despite there having ijeen no call for adding an extra' £2000 to the Melbourne Cup, it is gratifying to know that the leading club of Australia is affluent, and that % those in command mean to give owners every encouragment to stick to racSng. The pity is that despite the all-round improvement in stakes there are so few good men coming in to take the place of the many good owners we have lost during the last ten years.