2011 Melbourne Cup

Americain set to head superstar cast in 2011

The Melbourne Cup needs very little introduction and the race remains the jewel in the Australian racing crown.

The event is the most important sporting and cultural festival in Australia and on Tuesday 1st November, the nation will grind to a halt for a spellbinding renewal of 'the race that stops a nation.'

Each year the whole country stops to tune into the two-mile showpiece and it is the most watched five minutes of television Down Under year in and year out.

The beauty of the Melbourne Cup stream is that you don't have to be part of the racing fraternity to become engulfed in the action and a combination of the world's finest thoroughbreds, mixed with some of the globe's leading fashions have made the Carnival the most anticipated social event of the year.

The first ever Melbourne Cup was run in 1861 and ever since the roll of honour for the great race has been dominated by some of the most famous race horses the world has ever seen. The likes or Phar Lap and Makybe Diva are mentioned in households all over the world every day of the year and their exploits on the track were enough to demand the love and attention of a nation.

Will there be a superstar lurking in the field of this year's race? Last year's contest was won by French raider Americain and Bart Cummings' sensational So You Think was back in third and it looks likely that there will be another racing sensation to emerge from the pack in 2011.

There seems to be an increasing number of challengers from the northern hemisphere tackling the race and Americain will be back, looking to make it back-to-back victories in the Australian feature.

The only horse to have done that this century was Makybe Diva who landed the spoils in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and he will have his work cut out running off top weight at Flemington. He is the favourite for the handicap, but with the likes of Jukebox Jury, Lion Tamer, Midas Touch and December Draw all in the field, the opposition to last year's hero looks formidable.

While it is impossible to know what this year's meeting will bring one thing is for certain: the action is sure to be explosive, exhilarating and thoroughly intriguing. With a superstar cast set to contest the Melbourne Cup and with more than 100,000 fans set to head to Flemington to watch the race live or watch the Melbourne Cup live online, it really will be an event to savour.

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