The changing face of Australia’s greatest – and deadliest – horse race

In this episode of Good Weekend Talks, we look at the way the Melbourne Cup has become known in recent years for an infamous string of deaths among thoroughbreds entered in the annual event.

The Age chief reporter Chip Le Grand explored the increasingly deadly nature of the jewel in Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival, held every November since 1861 at Flemington Racecourse, for our cover story this week, “Fast & Furious: It’s the race that stops the nation, but over the past decade more overseas-trained horses have been running in the Melbourne Cup – with increasingly deadly results.”

With moderation from Good Weekend deputy editor Greg Callaghan, Chip is joined on the podcast by The Age racing writer Damien Ractliffe to discuss everything from medical treatments to a globalised racing industry to COVID restrictions, and what they might all mean for the health and popularity of the richest “two-mile” handicap in the world.

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For the full feature story, see Saturday’s Good Weekend, or visit The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.