‘I paid £10 for a pint at the horse racing – but here’s why I’m not complaining’

Ethan Davies travelled to the Melbourne Cup, nicknamed ‘the race that stops the nation’, to see what all the fuss was about

In a sport-obsessed country, the Melbourne Cup occupies a place in Australia’s national psyche like few other events. It’s so important millions of Aussies are given a bank holiday to watch the race.

It’s so important that this event, nicknamed “the race that stops the nation”, did not stop during both World Wars and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aussies truly go “all out” for the occasion, betting big, drinking early, and dressing loudly. The 166th edition had extra sparkle as Robbie Williams performed twice — a mash-up of his hits before the day’s main event — and a full 75-minute set after the 10 races finished.

It was only when I entered Flemington Racecourse that I truly appreciated the scale of this event. The grandstands tower over the front lawns. The stage built especially for Robbie Williams was large enough for any festival headliner to play.

Crowds are everywhere, all seemingly getting more and more excited as the countdown to Robbie Williams’ performance displayed on massive TV screens ticked down. The atmosphere was much closer to a music festival than a sporting event — as were the long bar queues.

But, as the mid-afternoon sun was beating down, I decided to brave it. After a little wait, I asked for a beer and the barman asked me for $15 for a schooner.

That’s £7.80 for 425ml of lager, equivalent to £10.50 a pint. I always knew there would be a premium for refreshments inside premier events like this — but I only paid around £6 for a pint at Oasis’ reunion gigs in Manchester last year. It stung.

Yet you won’t find me complaining. At least I hadn’t lost thousands of dollars like some reportedly had. Besides, armed with a drink, I was bopping along to a DJ and then caught a surprise Melbourne Cup winner in Point of Law, a horse who once belonged to King Charles.

By this point, I’d already spoken to horse trainers from Japan and France, Germans visiting the city especially for a flutter, Kiwis celebrating their wedding anniversary, dozens of Aussies that travelled from across their enormous country, and there was the usual cohort of Brits who have made a life in Australia.

It made the whole spectacle feel far more globally important than any British horse meet. One Aussie told me “it’s bigger than Royal Ascot”. On this evidence, it’s hard to disagree.