<table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=170 border=0> <tbody> <tr> <td align=middle>
</td></tr> <tr> <td bgcolor=#ffffff height=10></td></tr></tbody></table> <span>$150m splurge</span>
<span>By Stavros Sofios</span>
<span>November 04, 2002</span>
NINE out of 10 Australians will place a bet on tomorrow's Melbourne Cup with a record $150 million set to be plunged on the historic race.
The showdown - billed as Australia versus the rest of the world - already has seen betting agencies take more than $8 million in less than 24 hours. For 3½ minutes from 3.10pm tomorrow, the chance will be there for Australians to briefly put aside tragedy and unite behind a sporting icon that brings the country together like no other. From harbourside restaurants booked out months in advance to office sweeps and high-fashion galas at Sydney racecourses, the Melbourne Cup - run for the 142nd time tomorrow - has the unique ability of stopping people in the street and uniting the country. The gates officially opened yesterday for Cup bets, but 90 per cent of Australians - most of them once-a-year punters - will wait until lunchtime tomorrow to put their money on. The favourites for the $4 million 3200m race are Irish stayer Media Puzzle at $5, Vinnie Roe ($6.50) and Distinctly Secret ($7.50). In NSW, the TAB predicts: * MORE than $40 million will be spent on the Cup alone, a NSW record; * BETS on the entire day's fixtures will pass $70 million; * MORE than six million betting slips will be issued through TABs, pubs and clubs; * AT peak times, 34,000 slips will be sold every minute, with the TAB putting on extra staff to handle the traffic and help people who do not gamble regularly; and * THE boom in online gambling also is expected to hit record levels, with 250,000 phone bets and more than 250,000 internet bets expected. The dominance of international horses has given the Cup a more historic flavour, TAB spokesman Peter Fletcher said. "It's the first year where they really seem to have the wood on local horses," Mr Fletcher said. "The public interest has really picked up, there is sympathy for the grief (Media Puzzle jockey) Damien Oliver is experience since the loss of his brother, but in general it's a day for everyone to put aside their issues and problems and have fun." In the wake of the Bali bombings and in the middle of the worst drought in decades, the tradition of the Cup also has become a much-needed chance for Australians to briefly forget their worries. "It has tradition, it is the icon of all sport in Australia and a metaphor for our lives, where you can win big against all costs," Sydney University anthropologist Dr Stephen Juan said yesterday. "In times of tragedy, cultures fall back on tradition. It's a way of recovering because, when so much is uncertain, you try and make as many things in your life as certain as possible." That was evident in Saturday's Derby Day at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse, which drew the biggest crowd in its history of more than 100,000. Capacity crowds are forecast also for tomorrow's meet. At Sydney's Randwick Racecourse, more than 35,000 people will gather tomorrow for the annual corresponding race carnival. Alice Springs betting agency CentreBet already has taken more than $100,000 on the Cup, including a $40,000 each-way bet on Vinne Roe made by someone connected with the horse's stable. Content with his sixth placing in the Derby, Damien Oliver said he was ready to start in the Cup just a week after his brother's death in Perth from a race fall. "I had to block it out of my mind, but at the same time I drew strength from all of the support," Oliver said. He said he had resigned himself to picking up a Cup ride on a lesser chance after his AJC Derby winner Don Eduardo was injured at the start of the spring carnival. "I certainly wasn't thinking I would be riding a horse with the ability of Media Puzzle. "Now I'm riding the favourite." The favourite is also the pick for Premier Bob Carr and Prime Minister John Howard. Mr Carr, a former journalist, said the horse's name sold him. "As someone who works with the media quite a bit, I can't go past Media Puzzle. Form didn't really come into it," he said. Mr Howard said he fancied Media Puzzle also, while Opposition leader Simon Crean is tipping promising local Rain Gauge first and Media Puzzle second. Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown is looking to the Tasmanian connection and is backing jockey Craig Newitt to ride Miss Meliss to victory, which would earn trainer Bart Cummings his 12th Melbourne Cup. Australian Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett, a staunch supporter of animal rights, declined to offer any tips. He hoped none of the horses or jockeys would come to any harm in the race. Credit:
www.foxsports.com.au Personally, i love the last paragraph of the article. Onya Bartyy! Moffo
(take that comment either way you wish) 
