It's MC Day Tomorrow

Here is every thing you ever wanted to know!!

The Melbourne Cup has a long and detailed history that has produced over 150 years' worth of interesting facts and statistics punters must consider before enjoying a punt on the 2014 Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday, November 4th, 2014.

Melbourne Cup - Did You Know?

-The Melbourne Cup was first run on a Tuesday in 1875
-There have been six grey Melbourne Cup winners over the years, most famously  Subzero (1992)
-Trivia Question - What Australian sporting event did Russia win in 1946?
The Melbourne Cup! Russia was a horse
-Fashions on the field was first held in 1962

Melbourne Cup Race Record

-Kingston Rule (1993) won in a time of 3:16.30 which is the current Melbourne Cup time record

Slowest Winning Melbourne Cup Time

-The inaugural winner Archer (1861) has the slowest winning time with 3:52

Multiple Melbourne Cup Winners

-Archer (1861, 1862)
-Peter Pan (1932, 1934)
-Rain Lover (1968, 1969)
-Think Big (1974, 1975)
-Makybe Diva (2003, 2004, 2005)

Most Melbourne Cup Wins - Trainer

-12 - Bart Cummings (1965, 1966, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2008)

Most Melbourne Cup Wins - Owner

-4 - John Tait (1866, 1868, 1871, 1872)
-4 - Etienne de Mestre (1861*, 1862*, 1867*, 1878) *The winners of these years were leased
-4 - Dato Tan Chin Nam (1974, 1975, 1996, 2008)

Most Melbourne Cup Wins - Jockey

-Co-held by Bobbie Lewis (The Victory 1902, Patrobas 1915, Artilleryman 1919 & Trivalve 1927) and Harry White (Think Big 1974 and 1975, Arwon 1978 and Hyperno 1979) with four wins each - White also rode two Melbourne Cup doubles

Melbourne Cup Jockey Facts

-First Australian female jockey to ride in the Melbourne Cup was Claire Lindop who rode the unplaced Debben in 2003
-But the first female to ride in the race was actually Maree Lyndon on Argonaut Style (1987)
-The youngest jockey to win was Peter St. Albans on Briseis (1876) he was 12 years, 11 months and 23 days old at the time

Biggest Winning Melbourne Cup Margin

-Archer (1862) and Rain Lover (1968) share the record with eight lengths

Tightest Melbourne Cup Finish

-Dunaden's 2011 Melbourne Cup win over Red Cadeaux - took officials over five minutes to decide on the result via photo

First Melbourne Cup Photo Finish

-The first photo-finish was used in the 1948 Melbourne Cup when Rimfire beat home Dark Marne

Melbourne Cup Field Facts

-Smallest Melbourne Cup field was 7 starters in 1963
-Largest Melbourne Cup field was 39 starters in 1890

Melbourne Cup Barrier Statistics

-Barrier 18 is the only gate never to produce a winner since barriers came in in 1924
-The most successful barriers have been 9 - 12 with four victories in the past 11 years

Melbourne Cup Saddlecloth Statistics

-Numbers 4 and 12 are the most successful boasting 11 wins.
-No 4 and No 12 with 11 wins
-No 1 with 9 wins
-No 8 with 8 wins
-No 11 with 7 wins
-Makybe Diva winning in 2005 wearing No.1. The last horse carrying no.1 prior to that was Rising Fast in 1954.
-TAB numbers 4 and 6 have won four of the last fifteen Cups.
-TAB numbers to win only one Cup are 26, 28 and 39.
-TAB numbers to win only two Cups are 7, 16, 18, 21, 23 and 25

Melbourne Cup Winner Stats - Age

-Four and five year old horses have the best record with 43 winners each
-In the past 11 years however six-year-olds have won five times most recently Dunaden (2011)
-Only two eight-year-olds have won the Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup Winner Stats - Sex

-Makybe Diva is the most famous mare to win the Melbourne Cup (2003, 2004, 2005)
-In the past 12 years five Melbourne Cup winners were mares
-Stallions (Entires) hold the record with 64 wins
-Entire 64
-Gelding 50
-Colts 21
-Mares 13
-Fillies 3

Melbourne Cup Weight Facts

-In the past decade the average Melbourne Cup weight carried to victory is 54kg
-Heaviest weight carried to victory was Carbine, sire of Phar Lap, with 10 stone 5 pounds (66.0kg) in 1890
-Phar Lap actually carried the highest weight with 10stone 10lg (68kg) but lost
-Lowest Weight carried to victory was Banker with just 33.5kg in 1863

Melbourne Cup Winning Colours:

-17 cup winning jockeys have worn black as their main colour, the last being George Podmore on Evening Peal in 1956.
-Navy blue and royal blue with 14 wins

Melbourne Cup Day Attendance Facts

-The first Melbourne Cup attracted just 4,000 spectators
-The highest Melbourne Cup Day attendance to date was 122,736 in 2003

2013 - 104,169
2012 - 106,162
2011 - 105,979
2010 - 110,223
2009 - 102,000
2008 - 107,000
2007 - 102,411
2006 - 106,691
2005 - 106,479
2004 - 98,181
2003 - 122,736 (record)