1 CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME What a brilliant day of racing to bring the 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival to a close. TAB Champions Stakes Day at Flemington has become the grand finale, a day of racing, celebration and entertainment at its very best. There is much to look forward to—three weightfor-age Champions races run in succession, each at Group 1 level, and each with a prize pool of $3 million. The VRC Champions Sprint down the Straight Six track has a star-studded heritage stretching back to 1960. Black Caviar won the race in successive years, Nature Strip in 2019 and 2021, and last year, Sunshine in Paris. The Lexus Champions Mile traces its origins back to the Cantala Stakes and beyond, to the 1880s. Reimagined now, the past three years have given us stunning victories in succession by Alligator Blood, Pride Of Jenni, and Mr Brightside. The TAB Champions Stakes, over 2000 metres, links us with the famous L.K.S Mackinnon Stakes and, before that, to the Melbourne Stakes. That’s a champion pedigree. Last year Via Sistina beat the 2023 winner, Atishu, with 2023 Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight, third. An amazing result. Also featured today are the Group 2 TAB Matriarch Stakes, a 2000-metre race for mares, and the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a prestigious 2600-metre event for stayers. That’s a race with Makybe Diva on its list of winners. TAB Champions Stakes Day is a family day, and this year the party kicks on. We invite you to explore the newly redesigned family hub in The Park at the back of the Hill Stand and enjoy entertainment on the Live Stage in the Elms with FISHER closing out the Melbourne Cup Carnival. We welcome everyone, especially the new generation of racegoers, to the magic finale of Flemington’s Melbourne Cup Carnival. Neil Wilson Chairman
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