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It’s Melbourne Cup day and the weather in Melbourne has taken a turn for the worst, with heavy rain drenching the Flemington Racecourse this morning.
Between 7:30am and 11:30am (AEDT), there were 41 millimetres of rain recorded at Flemington. With the roof of the press centre caving in and flooding reported in the tunnel the horses exit from, Races 2 and 3 were both delayed by ten minutes.
» Cross Counter wins the 2018 Melbourne Cup
» Full finishing order
» WATCH: Melbourne Cup highlights
The good news is that the forecast is set to clear up throughout the course of the afternoon, so things should improve, however, the track has been downgraded from a Good 4 at the start of the morning to a Soft 8 by 11:30am.
If you’re not too sure about how the dreadful weather will impact the race that stops the nation, fear not – we’ve got you covered.
In short, it’s probably not going to happen. With the forecast saying the weather is set to clear up during the afternoon, it’s likely things will dry out a fraction and the race program will get back on track despite the heavy rain and early delays.
The last time the Melbourne Cup was postponed due to weather was in 1916. The only other time it’s happened was in 1870, and as you could well imagine, track conditions have improved considerably since then, which should allow for the track to drain and be in a decent shape by the time 3pm rolls around.
In saying that, the track has been downgraded all the way to a Soft 8, so it’s not going to be the firm running we saw on Derby Day last Saturday.
The biggest chance of the race being put back would appear to be from the impending storms, which the Bureau of Meteorology are saying will be a threat all afternoon.
Magic Circle, is the obvious answer. One of the favourites, he has now come into $7 for the win with Yucatan also holding a solid chunk of money in staying as one of the favourites, despite an outside barrier.
The slower pace should mean the field bunches up, which allows those from wider barriers to have much better chances of getting the job done.
The heavier tracks will generally suit the European stayers, who are used to racing in difficult conditions like these.
Marmelo, who was one of the favourites last year, has also been one of the movers in the market, while Avilius will also move in with better chances in the wet.
It would appear punters aren’t all that keen on Yucatan in the wet. The former favourite has drifted from $4.20 to $7.
Auvray and Vengeur Masque have also drifted, now becoming genuine outsiders after spending some time in the mid-range betting during the early markets, while Cross Counter has more or less held sway with punters. He’s almost an unknown quantity in the wet.
Not well. The trainline heading to Flemington is experiencing flooding issues, delaying and stopping services, while the weather is flat out ugly for anyone not undercover at the track.
The press centre has had part of the roof cave in as well, just to give you an idea of how much rain there has been, while the surface water on and around the track is extreme.
Even if it does clear up later this afternoon, it’s still not going to be an overly pleasant day.
