The Cox Plate is known by many as “the greatest two minutes in sport”, with prize money of over $5 million on offer and many of the world’s best horses likely to compete each year. Despite the popularity of the Melbourne Cup, the Cox Plate is thought by many to be a more pure racing event and has a great international reputation. In fact, since 1999 the Cox Plate has become the only southern hemisphere race to be included in the World Series, marking this great event as Australasia’s most prestigious horse race.
While the Cox Plate has been won by a number of international horses over the years, it became a truly international event in 1999. It now joins some of the biggest horse races around the world, including the Japan Cup, the Hong Kong International Cup, Arlington Million in the USA, the Canadian International, the Breeders Cup Turf and Breeders Cup Classic in the USA, the Irish Champion Stakes, the Grosser Preis Von Baden in Germany, and the Kind George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot in the UK.
The organisers of the Cox Plate have put a lot of energy into making it a truly international event, inviting ten international horses to the 2012 race. There is a lot of potential for the Cox Plate to become even bigger around the world, and boost the entire Australian racing industry much like the Japan Cup did for Japan back in the 1980s. The Cox Plate even has the ability to outgrow the Melbourne Cup as Australia’s favourite horse race, at least in terms of its international reputation.
Once again, the 2018 Cox Plate is likely to include a number of international horses.
