- Aussies missed the Melbourne Cup
- Many had made the same mistake as last year
- Knight’s Choice stormed to secure a dramatic victory
Thousands of Australians missed this year’s Melbourne Cup because they didn’t realize the race wasn’t on traditional broadcaster Channel Seven.
Some racing fanatics lashed out at the broadcaster last year after the TV channel broadcast live horse racing from other locations in Australia.
Fans had settled for an afternoon of racing action, believing the cameras would switch to Flemington for the start of the Cup. But many were left scratching their heads after Channel Seven didn’t show the race, forgetting that the rights had belonged to Channel 10 since 2019.
It appears the same thing happened again in 2024, with many fans once again missing out on the $8.5 million race due to start at 3pm AEDT on Tuesday.
Race fans seemed to be impressed again by the changes to the Melbourne Cup broadcasts
Channel Nine showed Robbie Dolan and Knight’s Chance’s epic ride on Tuesday as the outsiders won the Melbourne Cup
But some had not switched from Channel Seven to Channel Nine for the big race, with many forgetting that the former no longer holds the broadcast rights.
Channel Nine took over the rights to Australia’s big race for 2024, with $81 outsiders Robbie Dolan and Knight’s Chance upsetting the odds to claim a dramatic win.
Fans were once again caught out by the broadcast change, with some scratching their heads over how they managed to miss the race.
“I watched Channel 7 for three hours and realized the bloody Melbourne Cup is on Channel 9. I missed the whole thing. That’s basically a summary of the day,” someone wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
‘Hardly a day stops the nation in its tracks when competing networks show a completely different race. Bruce’s comment really threw me off,” he added.
Channel Seven had instead shown The Big Dance at Randwick and several other races from around the country.
“This happens every year, they almost got me today lol,” another joked.
Another wrote: ‘The race that stops a nation (until part of the nation realizes too late they’ve been watching the wrong horse race on Channel Seven instead of Channel Nine)’
Several people on
“I don’t think channel seven should be showing a program called ‘Seven’s Horse Racing’ at the same time as the Melbourne Cup,” one person wrote.
But it looked set to be a big day for some punters, despite favorites Vauban and Buckeroo both falling back in the race. One person took home a huge $3.2 million dividend on a $100 bet after correctly predicting the top-place finishers for Tuesday’s race.
Knight’s Choice came first, followed by Warp Speed, Okita Souchi and Zardozi.
Dolan, who also appeared on The Voice, admitted his elation about his win: “If you are willing to work hard, you will be rewarded.
“I could have easily stopped driving to do the music, but I just enjoyed it too much,” he said, speaking about a potential caregiver’s transition to music. “Pinch me, I’m dreaming… I can’t believe it,” he told Channel Nine.
‘I think I’ll continue singing for the rest of my life after that. Who cares.’