The purse for the G1 Melbourne Cup will increase this year, AAP reports, but the Victoria Racing Club has not revealed how much. The 3200 metre race, which was this year worth A$6-million, will also be sponsored by Lexus, which takes over from Emirates Airlines, beginning this year.
VRC Chairman Amanda Elliott said the move is not in response to Sydney's announcement that The Everest will this year be worth A$13-million for its second running.
“It's not about a competition,” Elliott told AAP. “We don't do anything in response to what happens across the border.”
Trainer Gai Waterhouse, winner of the 2013 Melbourne Cup with Fiorente (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}), said, “I don't know if they have to increase their prize money any more. It's a lot of prize money and people come from all over the world to be able to win that prize money and take away the coveted prize.”
“Four or five million looks pretty good when you win it, I can tell you,” Waterhouse added. “We paid a lot of money for Fiorente when we bought him. When we ran second [in 2012] on the first Tuesday in November he paid his purchase price, running second.”
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