The Melbourne Cup is the biggest horse racing event in Australia, and many consider it to be the most important horse racing event in the world.

Since Australia and New Zealand are known to create some of the finest horse breeds, it makes sense that Melbourne Cup would be largely raced by not only existing outstanding horses, but also horses that are set to make waves in the future.

The Melbourne Cup has not, however, been without its fair share of controversies and upsets.

Many place bets on the race via a host of reputable horse racing betting sites, so when a completely unexpected event happens it tends to seriously ruffles some feathers, and even result in a few eyes popping out of sockets in shock.

After all, when something as unexpected as a horse with 1/100 odds doesn’t occur every day. But it does occur, and that’s one of the most amazing things about the Melbourne Cup.

Prince Of Penzance

Speaking of 1/100 odds, the Prince of Penzance is one of few horses to ever win the Melbourne Cup with these outlandish odds.

Few expected the horse to even place, so when Michelle Payne and her horse the Prince of Penzance won, few knew what to really make of it. Imagine the smiles on the faces of any punters who put down a race on this horse.

That would be a $10,000 on a $100 bet. It just goes to show, even if prince of Penzance was the first horse to win on those in 75 years, you can never write off the underdog.

Delta Blues

In 2006 Japanese jockey Yasunari Iwata, riding Delta Blues, faced off against Damien Oliver, who was riding the favoured horse Pop Rocks.

It was expected by most that Olivier and Pop Rocks would win, but Yasunari clinched the victory in a neck and neck finale that had onlookers gaping in amazement.

After the two had passed the finish line, Olivier offered Yasunari his hand in a sign of respect.

Tawrrific

In 1989 the once favoured horse Tawrrific had fallen drastically out of favour after placing second last in the Caulfield Cup, which lead to 1/30 odds in the Melbourne Cup.

Many assumed that the five year old colt had finally lost his spark, and was falling from grace as a favoured winner.

In the Melbourne Cup, however, Tawrrific blew everyone’s expectations out of the water by winning the race outright. Another example of an underdog horse coming back to prove their worth and silence the critics.

Rimfire

One of the biggest upsets ever in the Melbourne Cup was the well known event that occurred in 1945. Rimfire won at 1/80 odds, raising a series of disbelieving gasp from onlookers.

The upset was caused not only by the fact that the jockey, Ray Neville, was only 15 years old, and it was his ninth ride, but also by the fact that it was the first time in history that victory was decided by a photo finish.

Some argued furiously that the camera was not properly aligned, but it was all for naught, as Rimfire and his 15 year old jockey were declared the winners.