"...and Beetle Bomb"

The first Tuesday in November may be special in the United States every four years but it stops Australia every year.

The Melbourne Cup, a horse race over 3200m (approx 2 miles), brings Australia to a halt at 3pm on this day. An obscene amount of money is gambled on this race much of it by Australians like myself who have no interest or knowledge in the sport otherwise and who never bet on horse races at any other time.


One certainty is that the winner will not be Spike Jones riding Beetle Bomb.

That's a joke for the old timers.