the melbourne spring racing carnival is the name of a melbourne, australia thoroughbred horse racing series held annually during october and november. ==the carnival and its status in the wider community== although racing in australia is held every day except good friday and christmas day, the group one races in melbourne are held almost exclusively throughout the carnival, which is traditionally placed between the football and cricket seasons. during the winter (where football is dominant), and summer (where cricket is dominant), racing takes a 'back seat' position in relation to the cricket or football in terms of media coverage and attendances. however, in spring and autumn, the mass media turns its attention to the racing. there is also a melbourne autumn racing carnival, a time where group one races are also held. ==attendance== {| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" !| year || derby day || melbourne cup || oaks || stakes || melbourne cup carnival total || caulfield cup || cox plate |- | 2007 || 115,705 || 102,411 || 95,230 || 84,067 || 397,413 || || |- | 2006 || 129,069 || 106,691 || 104,131 || 78,151 || 418,042 cup carnival crowd record smashed || 47,551tawqeet brings bmw caulfield cup glory for hayes and dunn || 34,256mvrc news archive - moonee valley racing club |- | 2005 || 115,660 || 106,479 || 100,263 || 61,382 || 383,784 || 93,825 || 44,189economic benefits summary |} ==sweeps== the carnival, and particularly the melbourne cup attracts the interest of many people otherwise uninterested in horse racing, and special forms of very low-stake gambling are often used for this event. one common form for groups such as office staff is the "sweep", where each participant adds a small fee to a "pot" and draws the name of a horse like a raffle. prize money is distributed to the person who draws the winning horse (occasionally smaller prizes are awarded to placegetters and the last-placing horse). a more complex and high-stakes form of the sweep is the "calcutta", often held as a fundraising event for community organisations, which begins as in the sweep (though usually with a much higher initial stake), but which allows ticket holders to trade their tickets through an auction system. ==special guests== for the fashion part of the spring racing carnival many special judges have come to the races. 2003: [[p
Carnivals Festivals_in_Melbourne Horse_racing_in_Australia Horse_racing_meetings Sport_in_Melbourne Visitor_attractions_in_Melbourne