Let’s Not Have the Race that Stops the Nation; Let’s Be the Nation that Stops the Race

It’s Melbourne Cup Day yet again, and as a nation, I continue to feel like we’re turning a blind eye to the Cup and the harm it has on society.

Ever since I was a child, I detested Melbourne Cup Day. I grew up around horses and find them the most gentle, beautiful creatures, and I can’t stand to think of the pain and suffering they go through for a 3-minute race.

3 minutes.

For a full day of missed work, people who have slipped back into gambling habits, a lot of drunk people and a lot of horses in pain, I have to question whether all of it is worth it for just 3 minutes.

Gambling has never something with which I’ve been involved. I have always stayed away from it, never trusting myself to be ‘lucky’ enough. It wasn’t until I met Kate Seselja from The Hope Project that I truly understood the harm of gambling.

Viewing the Melbourne Cup through a new lens was the tipping point of that. Unlike other sports, the race does not intrigue people beyond gambling. Very few people watch the race to look at the techniques of what happens. It’s not like cricket where you watch the bowler to see what length of ball he or she bowls, which way he or she will or won’t spin the ball. It’s not like AFL where your…