1863 Melbourne Cup

1863 Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
LocationFlemington Racecourse
Date20 November 1863
Distance2 miles
Winning horseBanker
Winning time3:44.0
Final odds10/1
JockeyHarry Chifney
TrainerSam Waldock
OwnerJoseph Harper
SurfaceTurf
Attendance7,000

The 1863 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Friday, 20 November 1863.[1]

This year was the third running of the Melbourne Cup. Controversially, two-time defending winner Archer was not allowed to take his place in the race after his nomination arrived in Melbourne one day late. The nomination arrived on a public holiday in Melbourne: Separation or Succession day to celebrate Victoria separating from New South Wales. As a result, The Victoria Turf Club's offices were closed for the holiday and Archer's nomination was rejected for being "too late". Because of this, Sydney trainers boycotted the race leaving only horses trained by Melbourne trainers. The resulting seven horse field is the lowest in the race's history. Archer would have carried 11st 4 lb (71 kg).[2] By contrast, the winner, Banker carried 5st 4 lb (33.5 kg), the lightest weight carried by a winner and third place, Rose of Denmark carried 5st 9 lb (36 kg).[3][4][5]

Rose Of Denmark was later disqualified as her jockey had not weighed in, although record books still show her as the third placegetter.[1]

Full results

This is the list of placegetters for the 1863 Melbourne Cup.[6][7]

Place Horse Age
Gender
Jockey Weight Trainer Owner Odds Margin
1 Banker 3y c Harry Chifney[a] 5 st 4 lb (33.6 kg) Sam Waldock Joseph Harper 10/1 1 length
2 Musidora 4y m D. Fountain 8 st 5 lb (53.1 kg) James Wilson James Wilson 2/1 (eq. f) 2 lengths
3 Rose of Denmark 3y f Harry Tothill 5 st 9 lb (35.8 kg) Hurtle Fisher Hurtle Fisher 2/1 (eq. f)
4 Barwon 4y h Sam Waldock 9 st 5 lb (59.4 kg) N/a Joseph Harper 5/1
5 Aruma 3y f Thomas Pullar 6 st 6 lb (40.8 kg) N/a Gideon Scott Lang 5/1
6 Shillelagh Aged g H. Howard 7 st 7 lb (47.6 kg) N/a Mr J. Morrison 8/1
7 Falcon 6y g Joe Morrison 8 st 13 lb (56.7 kg) N/a Thomas Dowling 8/1
SCR Saturn N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a N/a

Prizemoney

First prize £490, second prize £20.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Jockey Henry Dawes rode under the name Harry Chifney.

References

  1. ^ a b c "1863 Melbourne Cup MillersGuide". millersguide.identika.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  2. ^ "The Race That Stops A Nation". onlymelbourne.com.au. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Melbourne Cup, 1863". rogersouthernresearch. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  4. ^ Rolfe, Costa (2008). Winners of the Melbourne Cup. Fitzroy, Australia: Red Dog. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9781742035093.
  5. ^ "Melbourne Cup Winners - 1861-1880". Victoria Racing Club. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  6. ^ "1861 to 1870 Melbourne Cup Winners". races com au. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  7. ^ "VICTORIA TURF CLUB SPRING MEETING". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 5, 448. Victoria, Australia. 21 November 1863. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.