Close on the heels of the Melbourne Cup, which was first contested on November 7, 1861, the Australian Cup made its debut, also at Flemington, on March 28, 1863. Slightly longer than the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Cup covered 18 furlongs rather than 16 furlongs and remained that way for 80 years. From 1943 it was reduced marginally to 17½ furlongs, which was used for the next 20 years. A handicap race, it was cut back to 14 furlongs in 1963 – a century after its first running – and the next year was slashed to only 10 furlongs. It was reduced slightly to 2000 metres in 1973 when metrics were introduced.
     The shorter race also coincided with more talented fields than previously and a roll call of fine horses to win the event included Craftsman, Leilani, Ming Dynasty, Hyperno, Bonecrusher, Vo Rogue, Better Loosen Up, Let’s Elope, Northerly, Lonrho, Makybe Diva, Zipping, Fiorente and Cascadian.
      From 1979 to 1982 the race was run at weight-for-age, reverted to handicap conditions for four years and then resumed at weight-for-age in 1987.
     Flemington has always been the venue for the race except for 2007 when it was run at Caulfield because of refurbishment.