VRC to look at Melbourne Cup emergencies

Victoria Racing Club chairman Amanda Elliott has put the issue of emergencies for the Melbourne Cup back on the agenda after the scratching of Who Shot Thebarman.

The withdrawal of the Chris Waller-trained nine-year-old has left a field of 23 for the Melbourne Cup.

Ms Elliott wants the VRC and its wagering partners to have another attempt to solve the technology issues that prevent having emergencies for the Cup.

“We’re hoping to have emergencies in the Cup next year,” Elliott told RSN927.

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“It’s a sort of legacy situation that has been around for a long time. As I understand it years ago it was because the technology couldn’t cope with the amount of pre-post betting, and then to have a scratching.”

A review in 2015 determined it was not commercially viable to accommodate emergencies because of the costs involved.

“We need to be able to have the conversation with our partners about having the ability to have emergencies because to only have 23 runners and not 24 is disappointing,” Ms Elliott told AAP after Monday’s Cup parade.

“It used to be the technology couldn’t cope with it.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it and I’m sure we’ll end up with a good outcome.”