And now look at the race track itself. The straight course, six furlongs in length, and the “course proper,” are nearly as level as a table. The Newmarket Course, the only straight six furlongs in Australia, with the exception, I think, of that at Singleton, runs from the foot of the pine-clad hillside where the Members’ and Public Drives merge into the general traffic, straight down to the winning post. Half-way to the post it is joined by the course proper, which, some three parts of a furlong past the judge, curves with a perfect racecourse turn to the left. After rounding the bend the horses race along by the river and have a splendid stretch in front of them with only a very slight curve until after passing the mile post. After this the track inclines very gradually left-handed past the seven furlongs, and the Australian Cup Starting Post, and then it rounds gently, like the large end of a great egg, until it joins the straight six again. The track itself is splendidly grassed, and the going is almost always as near to perfection as possible. The circuit of the course is 1 mile 3 furlongs 111⅓rd yards, and it is essentially one which is suitable for a genuine stayer. The Melbourne Cup Course Starting Barrier stands between the entrance to the course proper and the Newmarket Barrier at the top of the straight. It is a noble sight to see a field of between twenty and thirty of the best horses in Australia wend their way from the enclosures, and, after the canter, trot up the straight to the Cup start. Here, within easy view of all the stands, they line up, and, after a few moments of breathless suspense, the barrier rises, and, to a mighty roar from a hundred thousand throats, the field with their glittering jackets jump off and thunder down the broad ribbon of green, round the turn, and away along the river bank. It is the most heart-stirring event of the whole racing year, and will probably ever continue to be so. The Derby start takes place just above the Grand Stands and the Hill. That, then, is the Flat Race Course. But Flemington is the home also of the Steeplechaser, and the Grand National, run for in the July of each year, is, to many sporting men, even as grand a spectacle as the Cup.