The Melbourne Cup is a long running equestrian race, with initial roots going back as far as 1861. Many consider it to be one of the most important in the world involving horses, and so viewed has the Melbourne Cup become that it is often referred to as ‘the race that stops a nation.’ This is because Australia has a long standing tradition of locals dropping everything to watch and cheer on the racers. It is also a long standing tradition of many placing bets on who they think will be the grand champion.