The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major annual thoroughbred horse race. It is known as "The race that stops a nation" and it is for three-year-olds and over, and covers a distance of 3,200 metres.
It is generally regarded as the most prestigious "two-mile" handicap in the world. The event is held on the first Tuesday in November by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
The 2008 Melbourne Cup winner was Viewed, ridden by Blake Shinn and trained by "Cups King" Bart Cummings, the win was Cummings twelfth success in the race.
