Saddle Up And Download A Win
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday November 5, 1996
THE Net loves an event, a reason to dress up, and Melbourne Cup Day will be no exception. It may be hat-optional as you sit at your screen, but there are plenty of ways to partake in the Spring racing festivities from the comfort of your chair.
Max Hitchins, author of Fact, Fiction And Fables Of The Melbourne Cup (http://www. hitchins.com.au/) reckons he can help you pick a winner. Hitchins has a long and entertaining system, outlined on his site, which is not foolproof, but no more stupid than most.
Even if you can't follow the logic (or you don't want to - really, it's pretty lateral), there's a stack of Cup trivia and lore, all available for quick download to your brain. Astound the office with your in-depth knowledge of horsey arcana. Brian Blackwell's Tips Page (http://www.onthenet. com.au/~briblack/news. htm) is a punting news page, offering Cup tidbits as well as other breaking equine stories.
The Narrator's Racing Service (http://www.pip.com. au/~chrisd/) is offering hourly updates during the day, from 7.30 this morning.
But the best service is probably provided by, no surprises here, the TAB (http://www. nswtab.com.au/), which bills itself as the One Stop Melbourne Cup Resource. The news and tips section links to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age coverage online (the smart way to bump up your content) and the trivia is well corralled.
The site offers odds, scratchings, track and weather information and recent results for all the entrants.
The only drawback is, you can't bet.
© 1996 Sydney Morning Herald