Melbourne Cup

Two horses died immediately after competing in this year’s Melbourne Cup.

One horse was spooked by a flag waving child and broke a leg when it kicked a fence.  

Another horse, Admire Rakti, a champion Japanese horse favoured to win, struggled during the race and died in its stable immediately after the race.   An autopsy revealed that Rakti had died from a heart attack.

In the 1930s a champion Australian racehorse, Phar Lap, died on a visit to the U.S..  Rumours at the time had the Americans poisoning Phar Lap.  I remember my grandfather telling me about how the yanks had killed our Phar Lap.   Other stories had gangsters involved in the death of Phar Lap to protect their illegal betting shops.

Phar Lap was inspirational for most Australians struggling through the depression years of the ‘30s.  Googling Phar Lap gives 443,000 results .

A 1983 movie tells the Phar Lap story

Will there be a conspiracy theory about the death of Admire Rakti?