Glamorous Melbourne racegoers let loose on one of Australia's biggest race days - and the party isn't over yet Almost 25,000 squeezed into Caulfield Racecourse for historic cup Much of the most colourful action took place away from the $5m race By Steve Williams For Daily Mail Australia Published: 07:12 EDT, 19 October 2024 | Updated: 07:12 EDT, 19 October 2024 e-mail View comments All eyes may have been glued to the track during the running of the nation's iconic Caulfield Cup on Saturday - but some of the most colourful action actually took place away from the field. Almost 25,000 people flocked to Caulfield Racecourse for what has become the biggest drawcard of Melbourne 's annual Spring Racing Carnival. Although persistent rain on Friday threatened to overshadow the festivities, the drizzle gave way to sunny spells on Saturday with the mercury eventually topping out at about 18C.
Irish-born gelding Duke De Sessa took out the historic cup, which has been running since 1879, with skillful top jockey Harry Coffey seeing off a late challenge by crowd favourite Buckaroo. And trainer Ciaron Maher became the first person in history to win the Caulfield Cup in Melbourne and The Everest, 750km north, at Sydney 's Royal Randwick on the same day. But he wasn't the only one celebrating.
With almost 25,000 punters squeezing into Caulfield for the historic cup, some racegoers had to think laterally to score a prime view of the track Others opted to hold their own races away from the of.