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
Horse racing in the United States is the largest dirt Thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand. One of the latest major horse track opened in the United States was the Meadowlands Racetrack opened in 1977 for Thoroughbred racing. It is the home of the Meadowlands Cup. Other more recently opened tracks include Remington Park, Oklahoma City, opened in 1988, and Lone Star Park in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, opened in 1997; the latter track hosted the prestigious Breeders' Cup series of races in 2004. Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has its own Hall of Fame in Saratoga