Melbourne Cup facing cancellation trend as 'perfect storm' offers grim reality for organisers

OPINION

Pssst….want a hot tip for the Melbourne Cup? Put $20 on it not being a thing by the end of the decade. We're not talking the end of the race itself – although interest is definitely on the wane - but as an event that brings Australians together.

Crowds at Flemington have been in decline for years, TV ratings are falling and demand for Melbourne Cup functions is on the slide. The Cup has been hit by a perfect storm of unease over gambling, animal welfare concerns, a cost-of-living crisis and employers unwilling to allow workers to down tools and finance an afternoon watching a horse race.

The first day Tuesday in November no longer has the same hold on Australians – particularly for those under a certain age – that it once did. My generation was weaned on the Cup from a young age. Parents put bets on for you or entered you in their workplace sweepstakes.

Televisions were wheeled into classrooms at 2.40pm as teachers – appropriately glammed up for the day – cheered the field home. Looking through today's lens, it's unbelievable to think eight-year-old kids were being introduced to each-way bets, boxed trifectas and quinellas, but that's how we rolled back then.

Moving into a job, Melbourne Cup was Christmas on a workday. The girls frocked up, the boys suited up, work was over by midday and the booze flowed into the night. Everyone got into it. Not so in 2024.

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Why companies are cancelling Melbourne Cup celebrations

Karl Treacher, CEO of the Culture Institute of Australia, has seen a growing reluctance among companies to acknowledge the Melbourne Cup. He believes the risks are just too great for an event – and sport - that divides opinion.

"It’s never an easy transition away from a national ceremony and something that many Australians feel is central to our culture but, in general, there is a growing trend away from encouraging teams to celebrate the Cup," Treacher told Yahoo Sport Australia. "The younger generations are nowhere near as attached to the Cup as an annual social landmark and, as we see younger, more aware leaders take the helm, we are seeing less interest in celebrating an event that for many now represents animal cruelty.

"In a world where diversity and inclusion have to be central, encouraging the celebration of what many see as animal exploitation isn’t something that galvanise perspectives. In fact, it will for many create reason for division and resultant tribal, separatist behaviour in the workplace."

For more than 150 years, Melbourne Cup was the race that stops the nation. Now, it’s simply the race many of us have stopped watching.