2011 Melbourne Cup 2011 Melbourne Cup The 2011 Emirates Melbourne Cup, the 151st running of Australia's most prestigious Thoroughbred horse race, was held on Tuesday, 1 November 2011 at 3:00 pm (AEDT), at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse. Dunaden won in a photo finish over Red Cadeaux in the closest finish in Melbourne Cup history. The winning jockey, Frenchman Christophe Lemaire, had arrived in Australia less than a day previously as a late replacement for Craig Williams. Six out of seven finishers were international horses. Third placed Lucas Cranach was the best locally trained finisher and fourth placed was the pre-race favourite, the 2010 winner,
Spring Racing Carnival turns its attention to the racing. There is also an Autumn Racing Carnival, a time where Group One races are also held. The carnival, and particularly the Melbourne Cup attracts the interest of many people otherwise uninterested in horse racing, and special forms of very low-stake gambling are often used for this event. One common form for groups such as office staff is the "sweep", where each participant adds a small fee to a "pot" and draws the name of a horse like a raffle. Prize money is distributed to the person who draws the winning horse (occasionally smaller prizes