'Nup to the Cup' protesters have stationed themselves outside Flemington Racecourse as the Greens call for an end to horse racing.
Punters and fashionistas making their way to the track for the 164th Melbourne Cup on Tuesday were confronted by a noisy demonstration opposite a racecourse entrance, as protesters yelled "horse racing kills".
Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses campaign director Elio Celotto says there are more 'Nup to the Cup' events than ever, as people realise that racing is "fundamentally cruel".
"We think it can be a day we all celebrate animals and respect them, the exact opposite to what's happening out there at the racetrack," he told AAP.
Deputy Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi is calling for the horse racing industry to be shutdown completely, as well as a ban on political donations from gambling companies linked to horse racing.
She said more than 1400 horses had died on racetracks in the past decade while gambling company donations to the major political parties grew substantially, as the TV audience for the Cup declined.
"More and more people are saying 'Nup to the Cup' every year and fewer and fewer people are watching it," Senator Faruqi said in a statement.
"The only reason this carnival of cruelty goes on is because gambling companies make a windfall and they bankroll the two major parties into silence."
Victoria Racing Club chair Neil Wilson said new pre-race veterinary protocols were introduced in 2021 to identify any issues in a horse before it races.
"At the time (it) was world leading, and we've seen the rest of the world start to catch up as they've adopted a lot of these standards," he told ABC radio.
"That's enabled us to stop potentially horses that may have been running that shouldn't have been running."
