The Victoria Racing Club today announced that Cessnock will join racing history when it plays host to the Emirates Melbourne Cup Tour in 2017.
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The iconic 18-carat gold cup will arrive in Cessnock on Sunday, August 27.
Selected for its passion for racing and community spirit, Cessnock will join 30 other cities and towns across Australia and New Zealand that will be part of the 15th annual Emirates Melbourne Cup Tour.
Cessnock Race Club Advisory Committee member Bruce Wilson said they were thrilled to be part of the tour, which will provide the community with the opportunity to come together and experience the magic that is the Melbourne Cup.
“Hosting the iconic Emirates Melbourne Cup Trophy will bring the excitement of the country’s most famous horse race to the famous Hunter Valley vineyards region,” Mr Wilson said.
“It provides an opportunity to not only celebrate this piece of Australian cultural heritage, but to embrace our own rich history of horse racing.”
The tour will start on July 1 at West Wyalong in regional NSW, where the gold used by ABC Bullion to make the trophy is mined.
The $200,000 trophy will travel around Australia and New Zealand, before returning to Flemington for the race that stops the nation on the first Tuesday in November.
VRC chairman Amanda Elliott said the Melbourne Cup is an Australian cultural icon so it’s only fitting that the trophy and its rich history is taken on a journey to meet the people.
“The Emirates Melbourne Cup Tour celebrates the stories intrinsically linked to the Cup and its contribution to Australia’s cultural and historical heritage,” Mrs Elliott said.
“Since the Tour began in 2003, we have delighted in bringing communities together in the shared history and magic of this extraordinary phenomenon.
“We are looking forward to sharing this passion, both here and across the Tasman, as we travel to places as diverse as Roebourne to Rockhampton and Mudgee to Murray Bridge.
“In an exciting journey, the Cup will also travel by train on The Ghan from Adelaide to Alice Springs taking the trophy to Australia’s red centre.”
The tour announcement took place at a special event at 2016 Emirates Melbourne Cup-winning owner Lloyd Williams’ training facilities at Mount Macedon in Victoria.
Mr Williams said he was delighted for Macedon Lodge to be the launching pad for the 2017 tour.
“I think it is fantastic what the VRC does in taking the Cup to the people across the nation and to New Zealand,” he said.
“The Cup has meant so much to me over the years and to see people get the opportunity to get up close and hold the trophy is such a wonderful thing.”
Since its inaugural year, the tour has travelled more than 494,000 kilometres and visited more than 377 regional, rural and metropolitan destinations, providing communities with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the magic of the Emirates Melbourne Cup firsthand.
More details about the Cessnock event will be revealed closer to the date.
People are encouraged to upload photos with the Cup to Facebook, using the hashtags #PeoplesCup and #EmiratesMelbourneCup, for the chance to win a trip for two to Flemington for the running of the 2017 Emirates Melbourne Cup.
Take a look back at the Melbourne Cup Tour’s visit to Singleton in 2015 in the gallery below.