This is one of several pages relating to the history of the automatic totalizator, a system that facilitates galloping trotting and greyhound racing betting, its invention in 1913, the inventor George Julius and the Australian company he founded in 1917 which became a monopoly (later an oligopoly) in this field. This page provides information on the Melbourne Cup. If you wish to start from the beginning then go to the index
| To Melbourne for the Cup - Tote Topics 1968 |
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This is an article, which appeared in the 1968 Tote Topics number 22. Tote Topics was the company magazine for Automatic Totalisators.
What visions of excitement and hopes of new found affluence are conjured up by that phrase "To Melbourne for the Cup!!!" - the premier and glamour race of the Australian turf.
The Melbourne Cup ranks both in money and interest with the few, very few, other great turf classics of the world. All Australian sportsmen who can beg, borrow or steal the money and the time will converge on Melbourne on the traditional first Tuesday in November, Tuesday 5th November, 1968, when the 108th Melbourne Cup will be run at Flemington Racecourse.
At approximately 2.40 p.m. some 26 horses, the safety limit for the race, will leave the barrier to cover two miles in approximately 3 mins.20 secs. to compete for the trophy given for one of the most famous races in the world. This year's race carries prize money of $60,000 and a gold cup valued at $2,000. The winner's owner will receive $41,300 and the cup, the second $11,800, the third $5,900 and the fourth $1,000.
As premier race of the Australian Turf Calendar, it compares with the Derby Stakes in England, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France, and the Kentucky Derby in America. It is far junior to the Derby Stakes in age as that race has been run annually for 190 years but, remarkably, is older than the Kentucky Derby, which will not hold its 100th running until 1974.
Flemington racecourse covers 320 acres and is situated 4 miles from the centre of the city of Melbourne. The track is cone shaped with shoots provided for special barriers. The cup start is in the straight 6 furlong shoot and gives a straight run of almost 5 furlongs before the first turn. The course at this time of the year is one of the most beautiful sights the eye can behold as the spring flowers are at their best. The abundance of roses, poppies, pansies, ranunculas and stocks and famous lawns are a special attraction to visitors. The spectators will add to this colourful scene, especially in the members' stand, with its fashion-conscious women and its men dressed in the traditional morning suit, complete with top hat.
The race, described in Encyclopedia Britannica as "the greatest all age handicap in the world", has been won by many famous horses, including the most famous of Australian horses, Carbine and Phar Lap. Spearfelt, a great grandson of Carbine, was the winner in 1926, when the biggest crowd ever to watch the running of the race, over 120,000, converged on Flemington. The name of Carbine crops up continually in the records of the event, including the background of one of the longest priced winners ever, Rimfire at 100 to 1 in 1948. Rimfire was a great-great-grandson of the famous horse.
Despite its history, the Cup had to wait 70 years before anyone was able to have a totalisator wager on a starter. Totalisator betting was illegal in Victoria until 1931, and it was in that year that A.T.L. provided betting on the event for the first time. The original installation provided for 96 selling windows betting Win&Place pools, and 84 paying windows. On Cup Day, 1931, the turnover was 52,106 pounds and 5 shillings. By 1937 turnover had climbed to 125,717 pounds and 10 shillings, the first occasion on which the 100,000 pound turnover point was passed. The 200,000 pound target was reached in 1944, when 210,018 pounds and 15 shillings was invested.
Doubles totalisator betting was introduced to Melbourne Courses in October, 1955, at Moonee Valley, and that year was the first in which this medium of betting was available on Cup Day. True Doubles betting was provided on "this and the next basis", supplemented by Quinella betting on the last race. 60 ticket issuers handled this betting medium. The "this and the next" pattern is now broken to allow for Quinella betting on the Cup itself.
Record turnovers on Cup Day have been 281,382 pounds 10 shillings on Win&Place pools in 1960 and 99,420 pounds 5 shillings on Doubles/Quinella pools in 1964. Turnover on Cup Day this year is expected to be approximately $500,000 on Win&Place pools and $190,000 on Doubles/Quinella pools, when some 85,000 people are expected to watch the race at Flemington. To achieve these figures the installation has been increased to 166 Win&Place issuers and 75 Doubles/Quinella issuers. These are installed in 14 houses, including the lawn stand, where the one house has 89 windows on the one face. In addition to the issuing machines, 10 mobile sellers will provide a service for reserved seat patrons so that these patrons will not have to leave their seats. There are now three $50 Win&Place selling windows to meet the needs of the larger investors. 150 payers will settle with the successful punters during the day. 11 of the selling windows will be available for betting on the Cup from about 9.45 a.m. continuously through the day until the Cup, providing a service to those patrons wishing to place their Cup bets early and not then have to jostle with other patrons in the hour's betting prior to the running of the Cup.
Cup Day is rapidly approaching and the tempo of racing is building up in anticipation. Overseas and interstate visitors are already arriving and will enjoy the lead up meetings at Caulfield and Moonee Valley before the Flemington week. Interstate and New Zealand horses are adding to the excitement of racing in anticipation of the major event, and when the 26 horses face the barrier they will be the best in the land. Stringent balloting conditions ensure that only the best will be left in the field out of the 400-odd horses which were originally handicapped in June for the race.
All over Melbourne there are signs of increasing excitement, especially in the commercial and tourist business communities which provide so much additional interest for visitors at this time of the year. For the ladies, Cup Week is the climax of the "Fashions on the Field" contests. Prizes for the various sections this year include a Volkswagen 1500 Deluxe and trips by Qantas for two (plus spending money) to Noumea, Hong Kong, Fiji, San Francisco and Honolulu. This year one of the judges is Miss World, the lovely Madeleine Hartog-Bel.
Melbourne Cup Carnival is one of the main social events of the year, and racing is conducted over four days during Cup Week, with a feature race each day. The social scene continues in the member's car park after each day's racing, where it is customary to sip champagne to round off the proceedings.
A.J.M.
Mark Twain made the following comment after seeing the Melbourne Cup in 1895. Nowhere in the world have I encountered a festival of people that has such a magnificent appeal to the whole nation. The Cup astonishes me.
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