2019 Melbourne Cup
{{Short description|Australian horse race}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox horse race
|name = 2019 Melbourne Cup
|horse race = Melbourne Cup
|image =
|caption =
|location = Flemington Racecourse
Melbourne, Australia
|date = 5 November 2019
|distance = 3,200 metres
|winning horse = Vow And Declare
|winning time =
|starting price = $11
|winning jockey = Craig Williams
|winning trainer = Danny O’Brien
|winning owner =
|surface = Grass
|conditions =
|previous = 2018
|next = 2020}}
{{Quote box
| quote = Master of Reality with Vow and Declare on the inside then Prince of Arran, Raymound Tusk, Finche. It's Master of Reality, Vow and Declare up on the inside, Vow and Declare, Prince of Arran is lifting late with Il Paradiso, Master of Reality just in front, Vow and Declare kicks, Vow and Declare's won it, for Australia, they're on top of the world!
| source = Commentator Matt Hill describes the climax of the race
| width = 25%
| quoted = 1
| align = right
}}
The 2019 Melbourne Cup (known commercially as 2019 Lexus Melbourne Cup) was the 159th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over {{convert|3200|m|mi|3}}, was held on 5 November 2019 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.
The race was overshadowed by recent news of the ill-treatment of horses in the Australian racing industry,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/18/prosecutions-footage-racehorse-cruelty-slaughter |title=Prosecutions 'should occur' after footage reveals racehorse slaughter and cruelty |publisher=theguardian.com |date=2019-10-18 |accessdate=2019-11-04}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/01/melbourne-cup-how-australians-fell-out-of-love-with-the-race-that-stops-the-nation |title=Melbourne Cup: how Australia's signature race lost its hold on the nation |publisher=theguardian.com |date=2019-11-02 |accessdate=2019-11-04}} and by the pulling out of notable celebrities including pop-star Taylor Swift,{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-21/taylor-swift-pulls-out-of-2019-melbourne-cup-performance/11535952 |title=Taylor Swift pulls out of 2019 Melbourne Cup performance |publisher=abc.net.au |date=2019-09-21 |accessdate=2019-11-04}} model Megan Gale,{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/wed-love-them-melbourne-cup-carnival-protesters-invite-mining-conference-activists-to-join-in/news-story/055bab52312c48c5f7d71514b6828231 |title=Melbourne Cup regular Megan Gale pulls out after shocking doco reveals racehorse cruelty |publisher=news.com.au |date=2019-10-31 |accessdate=2019-11-04}} and X-Men actress Lana Condor.{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/bumble-donates-130k-to-horse-welfare-fund-as-actress-guest-pulls-out-20191021-p532mn.html |title=Bumble donates $130k to horse welfare fund as actress guest pulls out |publisher=theage.com.au |date=2019-10-21 |accessdate=2019-11-04}}
The final field for the race was declared on 2 November.[https://www.racenet.com.au/news/melbourne-cup-2019-final-field-and-barrier-draw-20191102 2019 Melbourne Cup Horses] – racenet.com.au. Retrieved 3 November 2019. The total prize money for the race was A$8 million, an increase of the previous year.[https://www.punters.com.au/melbourne-cup/melbourne-cup-prize/ 2019 Melbourne Cup] – Punters.com.au. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
The race was won by Vow And Declare, ridden by Craig Williams and trained by Danny O'Brien.{{cite news|title=Melbourne Cup 2019: Vow And Declare captures first win for Danny O'Brien, Craig Williams|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/superracing/melbourne-cup-2019-vow-and-declare-captures-first-win-for-danny-obrien/news-story/51b291e35ddbbfd19558a3931112f4ea?nk=c245c73ac665d82316081b741d421425-1737461210|accessdate=6 November 2019|work=Herald Sun|date=5 November 2019}}
Field
| class="sortable wikitable"
!Number !Horse !Trainer !Jockey !Weight (kg) !Barrier !Placing |
| 1
| Charlie Appleby (United Arab Emirates) | 57.5 | 5 | 8th |
| 2
| Mer De Glace | Hisashi Shimizu (Japan) | 56 | 2 | 6th |
| 3
| Master of Reality | Joseph O’Brien (Ireland) | 55.5 | 1 | 4th |
| 4
| Mirage Dancer | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | 55.5 | 13 | 14th |
| 5
| Southern France | Ciaron Maher-David Eustace | 55.5 | 14 | 19th |
| 6
| Hunting Horn | Aidan O'Brien (Ireland) | 55 | 11 | 15th |
| 7
| Latrobe | Joseph O’Brien (Ireland) | 55 | 22 | 18th |
| 8
| Mustajeer | Kris Lees | 55 | 6 | 23rd |
| 9
| Rostropovich | David & Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | 55 | 12 | 24th |
| 10
| Joseph O’Brien (Ireland) | 55 | 19 | 11th |
| 11
| Finche | 54 | 4 | 7th |
| 12
| Prince Of Arran{{efn|Also known as A Prince of Arran in 2018 Melbourne Cup}} | Charlie Fellowes (Great Britain) | 54 | 8 | 2nd |
| 13
| Raymond Tusk | Richard Hannon Jr (Great Britain) | 54 | 3 | 16th |
| 14
| Downdraft | Joseph O’Brien (Ireland) | John Allen | 53.5 | 15 | 22nd |
| 15
| Aidan O'Brien (Ireland) | 53.5 | 24 | 10th |
| 16
| Neufbosc | David & Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | 53.5 | 23 | 21st |
| 17
| Sound | James Winks | 53.5 | 10 | 12th |
| 18
| Surprise Baby | Paul Preusker | Jordan Childs | 53.5 | 20 | 5th |
| 19
| Constantinople | David & Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | 52.5 | 7 | 13th |
| 20
| II Paradiso | Aidan O'Brien (Ireland) | 52.5 | 17 | 3rd |
| 21
| Steel Prince | Anthony Freedman | 52.5 | 16 | 9th |
| 22
| The Chosen One | Murray Baker (New Zealand) | Tim Clark | 52 | 18 | 17th |
| 23
| Danny O’Brien | 52 | 21 | 1st |
| 24
| Youngstar | Tommy Berry | 52 | 9 | 20th |
Broadcast
In 2018, Network 10 bought the rights to air the Melbourne Cup from 2019 to 2023 for $100 million, outbidding former broadcaster Seven Network.{{cite web|url= https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/ten-punts-100-million-on-melbourne-cup-broadcast-rights-20180903-p501hh.html |title= Ten punts $100 million on Melbourne Cup broadcast rights|
publisher=smh.com.au|date=3 September 2018|accessdate=3 November 2019|first=Jennifer|last=Duke}}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{MelbourneCup}}