Melbourne Cup popular in PNG

THE Melbourne Cup is the race that stops nations, it’s the biggest in Australia and one of the most famous races worldwide.
In Papua New Guinea, it’s increasingly popular every year, with gatherings in workplaces across the nation.
It’s also a fashion festival, with many women dressing up for the event, sporting fancy hats and lovely colourful dresses.
Many punters and novices alike come out to place their bets, all in the spirit of fun and entertainment.
There are 24 runners, which means it’s difficult to pick a winner and the race often pays large dividends to successful punters.
The distance is 3200m, much longer than the usual race distances of Australian racing and it often produces exciting finishes, where the winner is often decided in the final few metres of the race at Flemington in Melbourne, Australia.
PNG now has computerised betting, where punters can get exactly the same bet types and dividends as found in Australia.
Pacific Racing and Sports Betting Limited, first brought computerised betting to PNG and has facilitated this transition to electronic betting.
They are now located in Port Moresby, Mt Hagen, Kundiawa and Lae.
They will open the doors to all the shops at 7.30am to welcome all racing enthusiasts who want to take part in this exciting day.
With the Mer De Glace firming as favourites, the company is challenging the public to try their luck today.