2019 Cox Plate Carnival Media Guide

4 The Valley Racecourse is the historic home of Australia’s most prestigious horse race, the W.S. Cox Plate. The Valley is considered Melbourne’s most appealing spectator racecourse, offering an exciting, up-close and personal entertainment experience like no other. Established in 1883, the Moonee Valley Racing Club has enjoyed a rich and vibrant history of thoroughbred horse racing at its unique amphitheatre track and was the first Australian metropolitan track to conduct night racing. The Valley’s first meeting on 15 September 1883 featured nine horses that faced Mr Doherty, the starter for the Maiden Plate. The first race resulted in a dead heat between Eveline and Pyrette. From that day on, racing at The Valley was conducted strictly ‘en regle’, with excellent accommodation for the public and healthy prizemoney for the competitors. In honour of the Moonee Valley Racing Club’s founder William Samuel Cox, the Committee established the W.S. Cox Plate, a weight-for-age race run over 2040 metres. Placed on the racing calendar between the Caulfield Cup, Derby Day and Melbourne Cup, the W.S. Cox Plate immediately became a race of great importance and prestige. Today, it’s regarded as the best weight-for-age race in Australasia and one of the most exciting race days in the world. Since its inauguration in 1922, the W.S. Cox Plate has been acknowledged as one of the classic events in international horse racing. TheW.S. CoxPlate is celebratedasAustralia’s most sought-after prize, with past winners including Phar Lap, Kingston Town, Sunline, Northerly, Makybe Diva and So You Think while in 2014, Adelaide, trained by Aidan O’Brien from Ireland, became the first international winner in the race’s history. In 2018, Winx became the first horse ever to win four W.S. Cox Plate races, an achievement many regarded as the greatest we have ever seen on a racetrack. The ‘Weight-for-Age Championship of Australasia’ has formed the jewel in the crown of the two-day Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival since 2012. The only racing carnival in the world that comprises of both night and day racing in less than 24 hours, The Valley hosts 18 races and offers more than $9.5 million in prizemoney. The $5M Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) and the $1M Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes (1200m) are the two Group 1 feature races over the two days. The MVRC presents and promotes the Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival as an international racing event, with the aim of attracting the best sprinters and middle-distance horses to participate in the Melbourne Spring Carnival. HISTORY MOONEE VALLEY RACING CLUB FA S T FAC T PHAR L AP WA S THE F IRS T HORSE TO W IN MULT I PLE COX PL ATE ’ S - 10 Y E ARS AF TER THE R ACES INCEPT I ON THE FIRST RACE MEETING CONDUCTED AT THE VALLEY ON 15 SEPTEMBER, 1883