Rochester will be buzzing with excitement on Friday, October 4 as the $750,000 18-carat-gold Melbourne Cup trophy will be in town.

Rochester was named among 39 destinations across Australia and worldwide that will have the chance to host the prestigious trophy as part of the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour.

The Rochester Pony Club applied for the opportunity in 2023 and members were excited to be chosen.

RPC district commissioner Ange Acocks said the club was looking forward to the event and the chance to expose the younger members to different kinds of riding.

“I had actually forgotten I had applied because we had to apply a year ago, but it is all very exciting and the kids are excited,” she said.

“We have 32 pony members in the club ... our aim with the kids is to give them exposure to all different riding facets.”

The day will kick off at 8am in front of the silos on Ramsay St where the Lions Club will be selling bacon and eggs for breakfast.

From 9am, there will be an official presentation to welcome the cup and open the day.

Two former Melbourne Cup-winning horses, Prince of Penzance and Twilight Payment, as well as a former winning jockey who is yet to be announced, will be present.

At 1.30pm, the cup will move to Windridge Oval, where the RPC will be hosting a family day until 5pm.

There will be activities for the kids, including jumping castles and a colouring competition.

The RPC and the Melbourne Cup-winning horses and jockey will parade around the oval at 2pm.

In the evening at the Windridge Oval Pavillion, for $40 a ticket, there will be food, live music, a bar run by the cricket club and an auction that will include tickets to Derby Day at Flemington on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup.

Ms Acocks said everyone was welcome to attend the day and take a picture with cup.

“We are encouraging anyone in the Rochester community or further abroad to come along,” she said.

“Although the pony club sourced the cup, we wanted a community event and to encourage everyone to come and take a photo holding the cup.”

The Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour, now in its 22nd year, is a Victoria Racing Club initiative that aims to spread the Melbourne Cup magic to remote parts of Australia.

The tour has travelled over one million kilometres since it started, visiting more than 640 destinations.

This year the cup travelled abroad as part of the tour for the first time, with stops in Tokyo, New York, Auckland and Cambridge in New Zealand, London and Chichester in the UK, and Dublin and Galway in Ireland.

To purchase tickets to the Windridge Oval Pavillion event, visit https://tinyurl.com/4jyzmejs

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Wednesday, 5th February 2025

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