Sports Then and Now

Racing Victoria is set to make a move to preserve the Caulfield Cup the much enjoyed Spring Cup Carnival feature by making dramatic changes to the manner in which the Cup winner is penalized in the Melbourne Cup, which follows 17 days later.

No More Penalties to the Caulfield Cup Winner!

As of this spring, the winner for the Caulfield Cup will no longer be penalized again if the animal has already been allocated a minimum of 56 kilograms. If the winner of the Cup has less than that in the Melbourne race, any possible re-handicap will no longer take the horse’s weight for the Melbourne Cup beyond that mark.

Horses with More Than 56 Kilograms Suffer in the Melbourne Cup

As punters who enjoy both Caulfield Cup betting and making wagers on the ensuing Melbourne Cup will well know, the Racing Victoria General Manager, Greg Carpenter, said that the past 40 years have shown that it was made difficult for a winner of the first Cup to be placed in the second with a weight of more than 56 kilograms.

The issue surrounding the Caulfield Cup penalty has been thoroughly discussed at the Victoria Racing Club, Carpenter went on to say, and everyone remains of the opinion that it is totally appropriate for the Caulfield Cup winner to be penalised if the handicapper wishes to do so. He added that, on the bases of research done as a handicapping panel over a period of 40 years, it has emerged that it is without a doubt very difficult to win the Caulfield Cup race, and then 17 days later run the Melbourne Cup with more than 56 kilograms. Read the rest of this entry →