To mark the 150th anniversary of the Melbourne Cup (Aus-G1) next year, the Victoria Racing Club has increased the purse by approximately $457,716 ($500,000 Australian) to $5,492,594 ($6-million Australian).

“This will see the Emirates Melbourne Cup retain its position as the richest handicap race and the most iconic two-mile race in the world, and ensure its impact continues to be felt around the globe,” Victoria Racing Club Chairman Rod Fitzroy said.

Held on the first Tuesday in November each year, this year’s edition of the 3,200-meter (15.91-furlong) race was won by Shocking, a four-year-old from the second Australian crop of Darley’s Central Kentucky-based sire Street Cry (Ire).

The club will partner with the Victorian state government to ensure the anniversary is appropriately recognized with a number of events and activities planned both nationally and internationally.

“The program of events will provide an opportunity to reflect on the impact that the Cup has had on the development of our city and our nation,” Fitzroy said. “For almost 150 years, the Melbourne Cup has remained a constant in an ever-changing world.

“The countless triumphs and tragedies that are synonymous with the running to the Cup each year now form part of our national identity.”

The club plans to highlight the rich history of the Melbourne Cup, known as “the race that stops a nation,” and celebrate the role it has played in the lives of Australians, since its first running in 1861.

“It will be a celebration which is intrinsically linked with the past, present, and our future, which acknowledges the heroic tales, epic battles, and significant interweaving of the sport with the social fabric of communities throughout Australia, across the Tasman, and around the globe,” Fitzroy said.

“The Melbourne Cup has had such a significant impact on Victoria, from its humble beginnings in 1861 to the international phenomenon it is today,” Victorian Premier John Brumby said. “It is the people’s race and has become ingrained in Australian culture, a position that has not been cemented just over the last decade, but for a large part of this country's written history.” 

The trophy for the Melbourne Cup will return to the design of the 1930 Cup, won by legendary *Phar Lap, increasing in size and substantially in value.