墨尔本杯嘉年华今日开锣：维多利亚德比日打头阵，四赛日预计迎逾28万观众
墨尔本——澳大利亚最负盛名的赛马盛事墨尔本杯嘉年华10月31日在弗莱明顿赛马场（Flemington Racecourse）开锣，首日为维多利亚德比日（Victoria Derby Day）。压轴大赛维多利亚德比是为三岁马设立的2,500米赛事；德比日有黑白着装的传统，观众大多以黑白两色服装入场。
据维多利亚州旅游局与主办方公布的安排，嘉年华自10月31日至11月7日共设四个赛日：11月3日（周二）下午3时举行3200米的墨尔本杯，11月5日为橡树日，11月7日以冠军锦标赛日收官。整个嘉年华预计吸引逾28万名观众，单个赛日常有8万至9万人入场。
墨尔本杯有「让全国停下来的赛事」之称，比赛日（11月3日）是维多利亚州的公共假日。创办于1861年的墨尔本杯是澳大利亚历史最悠久的顶级赛事之一，也是南半球最具影响力的赛马活动。
墨尔本是澳大利亚华人最集中的城市之一，嘉年华期间弗莱明顿周边餐饮与零售迎来旺季；维多利亚州警方与交通部门提醒观众优先搭乘火车专线前往赛场，赛马场站当日加开班次。
来源：GSM·美国
Melbourne Cup Carnival Opens Today with Victoria Derby Day; More Than 280,000 Expected Across Four Race Days
MELBOURNE — Australia's premier racing carnival opened at Flemington Racecourse on October 31 with Victoria Derby Day. The feature race, the Victoria Derby, is a 2,500-meter test for three-year-olds, and Derby Day is known for its black-and-white dress tradition, with most racegoers wearing monochrome.
According to Visit Victoria and the Victoria Racing Club, the carnival runs from October 31 to November 7 across four race days: the 3,200-meter Melbourne Cup at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, Oaks Day on November 5, and Champions Stakes Day on November 7. More than 280,000 people are expected across the carnival, with single race days typically drawing 80,000 to 90,000.
The Melbourne Cup, first run in 1861, is known as "the race that stops a nation," and Cup Day, November 3, is a public holiday in Victoria. It remains one of the Southern Hemisphere's most prominent sporting occasions.
Melbourne has one of Australia's largest Chinese communities, and the carnival brings a peak week for restaurants and retailers around Flemington. Police and transport authorities are urging racegoers to use the dedicated rail services to the racecourse, which run extra trains on race days.
Source: GSM News (USA)
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：墨尔本杯赛马在弗莱明顿赛马场竞逐（资料图）。Chris Phutully 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Horses race at Flemington Racecourse during the Melbourne Cup carnival (file photo). Photo by Chris Phutully, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
