After a spectator-less event last year, in 2021 the Melbourne Cup is back to normal-ish. On 2 November, 10,000 attendees will be allowed to watch the race at Flemington Racecourse in-line with Melbourne’s easing COVID restrictions. But despite the excitement of a ‘comeback’ event, it does feel like the tide is turning on the race that stops the nation. Is the Melbourne Cup losing popularity?
Movements against the Melbourne Cup have been growing in the past few years. In 2019 the ABC’s 730 Report investigation into the animal cruelty behind the industry dealt a heavy blow in 2019 – this also saw a peak in Google search interest for anti-racing campaign Nup to the Cup.
But is the outrage and declining interest enough to end the Melbourne Cup? Here’s the answer, by the numbers.
Last Update: 25 October 2021
How many people attend the Melbourne Cup?
The number of punters frocking up and turning up to the Melbourne Cup each year is in serious decline. According to Flemington Racecourse’s own data, 81,408 people attended Cup Day in 2019, which is the third lowest attendance since 1980.
And it’s a trend – apart from small increases in 2012 and 2015, attendance has dropped every year since 2010. Race attendance peaked in 2003 with 122,000, but it’s now back down to similar numbers to the early 80s.
| YEAR | ATTENDANCE |
| 2019 | 81,408 |
| 2018 | 83,471 |
| 2017 | 90,536 |
| 2016 | 97,479 |
| 2015 | 101,015 |
| 2014 | 100,794 |
| 2013 | 104,169 |
| 2012 | 106,162 |
| 2011 | 105,979 |
| 2010 | 110,223 |
Are more people watching the Melbourne Cup on TV instead?
Not really. The 2019 race was watched by 1.32 million* people on Channel 10, and streamed by 90,000 people on 10Play (totalling approximately 1.41m). The 2018 race saw almost 1.84m for the race on Channel 7’s properties – a drop of more than 500,000 people in a single year.
The decline in TV audience hasn’t been quite as steady as in-person attendance, but is still significant. In 2015, 2.07m people watched the race on TV which was already the lowest recorded viewership since ratings were recorded in 2001.
Basically, the Melbourne Cup has lost roughly 750,000 television viewers in five years.
Keep in mind though, TV numbers are an indicator only and not the full story. They don’t account for people who watch the race in pubs and other venues, nor those who streamed the race on Racing.com or Sky Racing in 2019 (who shared broadcast rights with Channel 10).
*All TV viewership numbers are metropolitan only, as complete national numbers have not been published for all years. We’ve stuck to numbers that we can comfortably compare without misrepresenting the data.
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Why is this happening?
Concerns about animal cruelty and the treatment of horses is a huge reason why the Melbourne Cup is losing popularity.
Six horses have died since 2013 specifically because of the Melbourne Cup, and social media is helping people generate noise and awareness about those deaths. Previously traditional media outlets may not have put a focus on horse deaths in their coverage of the event, allowing it to be a hushed and secret side to an otherwise glamorous and bougie day.
At the same time, Australia’s national identity is changing and the Melbourne Cup doesn’t necessarily suit the idea of who we think we are anymore. An analysis piece by The Guardian explains that, at a higher level horse racing “[plays] into both the celebration of Anglo-Saxon heritage and broader narratives around purity of blood”. That version of Australia becomes less relevant as our country becomes more multicultural, in turn making the Melbourne Cup less representative of what makes Australia great.
Isn’t the Melbourne Cup worth loads of money, though?
Definitely. Which is why, despite the Melbourne Cup losing popularity, it ultimately won’t be stopping any time soon.
According to the Victorian Racing Committee (VRC) Annual Reports, the 2018 Melbourne Cup Carnival generated almost $450million gross economic benefit for Victoria – a big increase from $388m in 2015. All this despite less racegoers attending across the four Carnival days.
Let’s compare this to another huge, international sporting event in Melbourne: the Australian Open. In 2019, the tennis Grand Slam generated $347m gross economic benefit for Victoria… The Melbourne Cup brings in $100m more than the Australian Open.
And then there is the gambling side of things. In 2019, Australian’s placed $106million worth of bets on the Melbourne Cup race alone (although this was a little less than in 2018). The gambling industry is worth a huge amount to horse racing and the economy at large, hitting a record $1.58 billion for the entire 2018/2019 Victorian racing season.
But that’s just Victoria. On a national level, the gambling industry turnover was $36b in 2019 and 54% of that comes from horse racing.
And all this, despite declining interest in the one event that draws people from outside the usual racing crowd.
So if anything could bring an end to the Melbourne Cup, it won’t be declining popularity alone. It has to be the money.
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