The 2025 Melbourne Cup is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar in Australia and this year’s edition is shaping up to be a thriller.
The global profile of ‘the race that stops the nation’ has been boosted in recent years by the involvement of horses, jockeys and trainers from international horse racing jurisdictions.
The United States has been conspicuous by its absence, but that will change in November with Parchment Party set to take his place in the line-up at Flemington Racecourse.
The Bill-Mott trained horse was one of 120 nominations for the Melbourne Cup and is guaranteed an automatic spot following his wide-margin victory in the Belmont Gold Cup Stakes.
New York-based jockey John Velazquez has been booked to ride Parchment Party, adding further international appeal to one of Australia’s most iconic sporting events.
Odds of 50/1 will appeal to sports bettors looking for a value bet, either with the Dabble promo code offer or any betting signup bonus offer available to them as the betting on the Melbourne Cup gathers steam.
Velazquez has regularly been the scourge of bookmakers in North America and he will be desperate to upset the odds aboard Parchment Party.
Leigh Jordon, executive general manager of racing for the Victoria Racing Club, says he is delighted that the 53-year-old is riding in this year’s Melbourne Cup.
“In terms of international horses, we’ve got a really wide representation and probably the widest representation we’ve had for the Cup,” Jordon said. “We’ve horses from England, Ireland, France, America, Germany and Japan.
“The highlight from the United States is Parchment Party and he will be our first-ever US-trained horse to run in the Melbourne Cup. He won the Grade II Belmont Gold Cup, which is one of the ‘golden tickets’ into the race.
“He’s trained by Bill Mott who is a Hall of Fame trainer and I’m quite excited to announce that Parchment Party will be ridden by John Velazquez.
“Some of his statistics are unbelievable. He’s ridden over 6,700 winners in his career – he is a Hall of Fame jockey and his career earnings are over half a billion US dollars.
“He’s won Kentucky Derbies, he’s won all the Triple Crown races and he’s won over 20 Breeders’ Cup races. He truly is a legend of the sport and it’s great to have him here riding in the Cup.”
Numerous other horses have a genuine chance of emerging victorious, including a talented stayer who was recently purchased by Melbourne Cup-winning syndicators Australian Bloodstock.
They have splashed the cash on dual Group 1 winner Al Riffa, who claimed a hugely impressive victory in the Curragh Cup in mid-July.
The horse has remained in training in the Republic of Ireland with Joseph O’Brien, who previously won the Melbourne Cup with Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020).
Al Riffa followed up his success at The Curragh by winning the Irish St Leger on his most recent outing at the same course and he could be tough to beat at Flemington.
The home challenge will be led by Half Yours, who is attempting to become just the 13th horse to complete the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double.
That victory was the horse’s seventh from 14 career starts and he should mount a strong bid to etch his name into Australian horse racing folklore.
The 2025 Melbourne Cup is scheduled to take place on the first Tuesday in November. US viewers can watch the race via Sky Sports Racing UK if they download virtual private network (VPN) software.
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