Thursday, 25 July 2019: The countdown is on to the 2019 Melbourne Cup Carnival, with just 100 days to go until AAMI Victoria Derby Day on Saturday 2 November.

100 days until the 2019 Melbourne Cup Carnival

The four-day spectacle hosted by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) at the world-renowned Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne creates an atmosphere unparalleled at any other sporting event in Australia and celebrates all that Melbourne does best: world-class sport, fashion, entertainment and hospitality.

At the centre of the Melbourne Cup Carnival is four days of impressive thoroughbred racing offering a record prize pool in 2019 of $27.6 million. It all begins with AAMI Victoria Derby Day on Saturday 2 November, followed by Lexus Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday 5 November, Kennedy Oaks Day on Thursday 7 November and Seppelt Wines Stakes Day on Saturday 9 November.

Every raceday provides its own unique offering, whether it's competitive racing, high fashion, entertainment or a culinary experience, there's a raceday for everyone.

The Lexus Melbourne Cup is the lynchpin of the Melbourne Cup Carnival and has played a principal role in establishing Victoria's Spring Racing Carnival as Australia's major annual sporting, social and cultural event.

This year, the 'race that stops a nation'™ is worth a record $8 million in prizemoney and trophies, enhancing its position as the world's richest handicap and the world's richest staying race

In a timely coincidence, the $200,000 Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy yesterday visited its birthplace at the Mt Carlton Mine in Queensland as part of the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour. Incredible vision of the Cup in the open pit mine is available for download here.

VRC Chief Executive Officer Neil Wilson said there's nothing quite like Cup Week in Melbourne.

"We look forward to welcoming more than 300,000 racegoers to Flemington over the Melbourne Cup Carnival and sharing the magic of the week with thousands more at events such as the Lexus Melbourne Cup Parade through the streets of Melbourne.

"The Carnival is the most important and celebrated week in Australian racing and the Lexus Melbourne Cup itself is watched by over 750 million people across 163 territories globally."

At the height of spring, the Melbourne Cup Carnival is an exhilarating time to be in Melbourne with an array of events revolving around Cup Week such as business functions, champagne breakfasts and fashion luncheons to be enjoyed.

Each year the VRC invests more than $55 million to host the Melbourne Cup Carnival alone with last year's event generating a record $447.6 million in gross economic benefit to Victoria, which is unrivalled by any other Australian sporting event. While nationally, this figure rises to a massive $935.5 million.

The VRC welcomes the attendance of families at Flemington, with children under 16 accompanied by an adult admitted free of charge.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit: Flemington.com.au.