Melbourne Cup: Crowds, clouds and celebrities
1 November 2016
The Melbourne Cup may be Australia's biggest horse race, but it's almost as famous for everything that surrounds it. Bold or underwhelming celebrity appearances, out-there fashion, and the spectre of bad weather are perennial talking points outside the two-mile gallop. This year did not disappoint. Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, sent photographers into a spin when she arrived at Flemington Racecourse dressed entirely in white. A wild scrum produced a stream of images, with photographers seemingly undeterred about how far away they were from the magnate, who recently made headlines for upping her bid for Australia's largest private landholding. She quickly moved to spend her day inside the exclusive Birdcage zone, prompting some to muse that she and fellow billionaire Anthony Pratt were "probably the last people requiring a free lunch". But her exit from the marquee was less glamorous than her entrance. In a moment captured by some quick-fingered photographers despite the best efforts of her security detail, she tripped down the stairs. The jostle to get the crucial shot is de rigeur come Melbourne Cup time, and of course, everyone wanted a slice of the famed three-pronged, 18-carat gold prize. Early on, it seemed the weather gods were smiling on Flemington... Then, true to Melbourne's highly changeable weather, the first sign of gloom appeared. Rain finally arrived to spoil the party just as the race finished. The most important day of the year did not go well for one betting company, with its site going down for at least 90 minutes. Betfair tweeted it had a "technical glitch preventing bet placement", prompting mockery online. "Betfair exchange has gone down on Melbourne Cup day. LOLZ," one user tweeted. "Terrible terrible terrible," wrote another. Television and musical star Rob Mills found a unique way to celebrate, turning up in perhaps the day's most eye-popping wear. Mills donned a blue blazer covered in Melbourne Cup pins to raise money for the Starlight Foundation, Of course, no Melbourne Cup would be complete without the customary snaps of race-goers entertaining themselves after a few too many glasses of champagne. Nine people were arrested and 78 punters evicted from the racecourse this year. A 75-year-old woman was also reportedly fined after being caught drink-driving the wrong way through a roundabout in Hastings, after attending a cup function.
Early on, it seemed the weather gods were smiling on Flemington... Then, true to Melbourne's highly changeable weather, the first sign of gloom appeared. Rain finally arrived to spoil the party just as the race finished.
3325_0
2. Is that a cloud?