Melbourne Cup 31 October 1873 announced that the following Thursday (Cup Day) be observed as a bank and civil (public) service holiday. The Melbourne Cup was first run on a Tuesday in 1875, the first Tuesday in that month. On 7 November 1876, the three-year-old filly, Briseis, owned and trained by James Wilson Snr., won in a time of 3.36.25. Briseis then went on to create a record that is never likely to be equalled, winning the VRC Derby, the Melbourne Cup and the VRC Oaks in the space of six days. She was ridden in the Melbourne Cup by the tiny
Women's horse racing in Australia century. By the late 1920s, there were efforts to ban horse racing in Australia because the sport was seen to have a corrupting influence on Australian women. In 1934, the first female owned horse was entered in the Melbourne Cup. Women were involved in horse racing around the country by the 1930s. They were among the attendees at a 1939 race in Yass, New South Wales. By the 1950s, women were dominant in the horse racing industry, with several wealthy women such as Elizabeth Arden being well known owners and Elizabeth Dangerfield, Elsie Morris and Judy Johnson being well known