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Anti-terror plans put in place for 2017 Melbourne Cup
"We learn from what's happening overseas," police say
The Melbourne Cup will have measures in place to deal with the possibility of a “hostile vehicle incursion,” local police revealed Wednesday.
Over 100,000 people are expected to descend on Flemington Racecourse for the annual event, known as “the race that stops a nation.”
And, with under a week to go, police said bollards would be installed along the route of the Melbourne Cup Parade and through the city’s Central Business District.
Over 10,000 miles away, New York suffered its deadliest terror attack since 9/11 on Tuesday afternoon when a man drove a rental truck along a popular bike path in lower Manhattan.
“We learn from what’s happening overseas and we ensure that we use any intelligence that is relevant,” Victoria Police Superintendent David Clayton told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday.
“In terms of a hostile vehicle incursion into the event, we plan and we have contingencies and we have measures in place to mitigate against that.”
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With a prize purse of AU$6.25 million ($4.8M), the Melbourne Cup is Australia’s richest and most prestigious thoroughbred racing event.
German bay gelding Almandin, ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, narrowly defeated Heartbreak City to cross the line first in 2016.
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This year’s race takes place at 15:00 local time on Tuesday 7 November.
