Melbourne Cup Special 20% Pick 4 Bonus

Monday, November 4

Emirates Melbourne Cup Day sits at the pinnacle of the Australian racing calendar, as some of the greatest thoroughbreds from around the world descend upon Flemington to battle it out for $6.2 million in prize money and etch their names into history.

The 2013 Melbourne Cup is Monday, November 4 and to celebrate 'the race that stops a nation," Australian Racing is offering up a $20,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 and we are adding a 20% Pick 4 Bonus to anyone who can hit it on TwinSpires.com.

Australian Racing gets started with the Melbourne Cup card as Australia A on Monday, post time is 6:20pm ET/3:20pm PT.  The $20,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 will be contested over races 7A, 8A, 9A and 10A, starting at 11pm ET/8pm PT.Australian Racing is offering up a $10,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 3 on Friday night and we are offering a 20% Pick 3 Bonus to anyone who can hit it on TwinSpires. - See more at: http://www.twinspires.com/cox-plate-special-20-pick-3-bonus#sthash.xs7nLVqC.dpuf

The $20,000 Guaranteed Pick 4:

How to earn your Pick 3 Bonus:

• Cash a winning ticket in the $10,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 3 (ending with the $3 Million Cox Plate) at Moonee Valley Racing Club, Australia on Friday, October 25 with your TwinSpires.com account.
• For every winning ticket you cash in the Late Pick 3, you will earn a bonus equal to 20% of your gross winnings.
• Bonuses are capped at $500 per player, regardless of Late Pick 3 payout or number of winning tickets cashed.
• Bonus credits won on Friday, October 25 will be credited by Tuesday, October 29.

* Pick 3 Bonuses are based on gross winnings from wagers placed in the $10,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 3 pool at Australia Racing. Pick 3 Bonus payments are capped at $500 per player, regardless of payoff amount or number of winning tickets cashed.- See more at: http://www.twinspires.com/cox-plate-special-20-pick-3-bonus#sthash.xs7nLVqC.dpuf

How to earn your Pick 4 Bonus:

• Cash a winning ticket in the $20,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 (starting with the G1 $6.2 Million Emirates Melbourne Cup) at Flemington Racecourse, Australia on Monday, November 4 with your TwinSpires.com account.
• For every winning ticket you cash in the Late Pick 4, you will earn a bonus equal to 20% of your gross winnings.
• Bonuses are capped at $500 per player, regardless of Late Pick 4 payout or number of winning tickets cashed.
• Bonus credits won on Monday, November 4 will be credited by Wednesday, November 6.

* Pick 4 Bonuses are based on gross winnings from wagers placed in the $20,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 pool at Australia Racing. Pick 4 Bonuses are capped at $500 per player, regardless of payoff amount or number of winning tickets cashed.

Bet the Melbourne Cup and Australia horse racing online on TwinSpires.com and watch Australia horse races for free on TwinSpiresTV.

Emirates Melbourne Cup Day Information

Date: Monday, November 4
Where: Flemington Racecourse, Flemington VIC 3031

Field for the $6,200,000 Emirates Melbourne Cup

About Melbourne Cup Day

It’s an exhilarating day that puts Australia firmly in the international sporting spotlight. Trainers from around the world set their sights on the Emirates Melbourne Cup, a race that is widely considered to be the best staying handicap in the world.

Each year on Melbourne Cup Day, the greatest thoroughbreds from around the world descend upon Flemington to battle it out for a chance at the $6.2 million in prize money and to cement their names into history. Over 3200 metres, every competitor races towards the richest prize in Australian sport and the 18ct solid gold Hardy Brothers trophy valued at $175,000.

As the jewel in the Melbourne Cup Carnival crown, this iconic day is a heady mix of revelry embraced by local and international visitors set to enjoy spectacular racing, fashion and exquisite hospitality and entertainment, making it an unmissable sporting and cultural event.

The official flower for Emirates Melbourne Cup Day is the yellow rose and can be purchased from flower sellers near the entrances, upon arrival to Flemington.

History of the Melbourne Cup

The race originated in 1861 as a result of one upmanship between the Victoria Jockey Club and the Victoria Turf Club. In that year the Turf Club decided to introduce a two mile handicap, to be called the Melbourne Cup, to trump its rival club.

The first ever Melbourne Cup was won by Archer in 1861, and he won it again the following year. The more famous winners of the great race include Carbine (1890), Phar Lap (1930), Peter Pan (1932 & 34), Comic Court (1951), Rising Fast (1954), Galilee (1966), Rain Lover (1968 & 69), Kiwi (1983), Vintage Crop (1993), Saintly (1996), Might And Power (1997) and Makybe Diva (2003, 2004 & 2005).

The deeds of Makybe Diva in winning three consecutive Emirates Melbourne Cups, as handicaps, had been hitherto considered impossible. No mare had ever won two Cups before Makybe Diva, and she set a weight carrying record for a mare (to win) in the 2004 Cup, and then increased that benchmark in the 2005 race.

The master trainer JB (Bart) Cummings easily holds the record for the number of Melbourne Cup winners, with twelve. Harry White and Bobbie Lewis share the riding honours with four wins each.

The Emirates Melbourne Cup is run over 3200m (2 miles prior to 1972) under handicap conditions. Entries for the race close in the first week of August.

The Emirates Melbourne Cup is affectionately referred to as "the race that stops a nation". In all parts of Australia, people stop what they are doing shortly before 3pm on Cup Day to watch or listen to the race, via television, internet or radio. In Melbourne itself, the day is declared a public holiday, and upwards of 100,000 people usually attend Flemington Racecourse. The race is televised live to an audience of about 700 million people worldwide.

Since 1993, horses trained in the northern hemisphere have travelled to Melbourne each year to compete in the Melbourne Cup. In the very first year of this pilgrimage, the Irish-owned and Dermot Weld-trained Vintage Crop changed the Melbourne Cup forever by winning the great race. A second placing by Godolphin's Central Park, in 1999, was matched by an equally bold second by that stable's front running stayer Give The Slip in 2001. Third placings by English trained Persian Punch in 1998 and 2001 were extremely brave performances.

Then in 2002, the same combination of Irish owner and trainer broke through to repeat their 1993 triumph, with the free running stayer Media Puzzle. The invasion continued in 2003 when England's Jardine's Lookout finished on hard for third, while in 2004 it took the best staying mare in the world to prevent Ireland's Vinnie Roe from lifting the Emirates Melbourne Cup out of Australia again for Dermot Weld.

Since then, entrants from Japan, USA, Ireland, England, France, Germany, UAE and Hong Kong have joined approximately 250 Australian and New Zealand horses in the list of nominations. Plans by international connections to bring horses to Melbourne are decided upon when handicap weights are announced in early September.

In 2006, the Japanese owned and trained pair Delta Blues and Pop Rock almost dead-heated for the Emirates Melbourne Cup, with the former victorious. With more than four lengths to the third horse, the Japanese runners lifted the Cup to a new level as the stayers championship of the world, and brought international racing to the forefront like few others before them.

2010 was the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup and the VRC held a year-long celebration to appropriately mark this iconic milestone.

Champion horses have always thrilled spectators. There are stories of endurance, scandal, controversy, tragedy and heroism including great horses such as:

• Carbine (1890)
• Phar Lap (1930)
• Peter Pan (1932 and 1934)
• Comic Court (1950)
• Rising Fast (1954)
• Rain Lover (1968 & 1969)
• Kiwi (1983)
• Vintage Crop (1993)
• Might and Power (1997)
• Makybe Diva (2003, 2004 & 2005)

From Etienne de Mestre in the 1860s and 1870s, and Lee Freedman in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, who have both trained five Cup winners, to the ‘Cup’s King’ Bart Cummings, who since 1965 has won 12 Cups, horse trainers continue to strive to set records in thoroughbred racing.

Past winners of the Emirates Melbourne Cup

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