Horse lovers are saying ‘Nup!’

The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) say that with the cancellation of the traditional Melbourne Cup Parade, they will l be holding its first ever ‘Nup to the Cup’ Parade as a replacement today, starting from Flinders Street Station Melbourne at 11am.

‘Celebrating Animals, Not Exploiting Them’

Organisers say the parade will promote ‘Celebrating Animals, Not Exploiting Them’, and comes as the annual Deathwatch Report reveals that the number of horses killed from racing in 2024/25 is higher than ever – with 175 thoroughbred racehorses losing their lives from racing in Australia.

CPR Campaign Director, Elio Celotto, says that ‘as reported in The Guardian Australia and on BBC World News radio, this is the highest number of confirmed racehorse deaths across Australia since CPR began tracking deaths in racing eleven years ago.’

175 deaths tip of the iceberg

‘Disturbingly, the 175 deaths are only the tip of the iceberg. Far more horses are killed from racing related incidents off the track than we can possibly detect without public transparency from the racing industry, and thousands of horses are killed when they’re no longer of use on the racetrack.’

Mr Celotto says the public awareness of the cruelty in horseracing is growing and as a result, ‘Nup to the Cup’ events are hosted by animal advocates all over the country.

‘The Nup to the Cup parade today is another opportunity for animal lovers to celebrate animals instead of exploiting them during the spring racing carnival.’
CPR’s traditional Melbourne Cup protest at Newmarket Reserve/Flemington Racecourse is happening tomorrow, Tuesday, November 4 starting at 10.30am.

Last year’s massively popular ‘Nup to the Cup’ party event at Welcome to Thornbury is also returning this year with doors opening at 12pm on the same day.