The1878 Melbourne Cup was a two-milehandicap horse race which took place on Tuesday, 5 November 1878.^[1]

This year was the eighteenth running of theMelbourne Cup. Won by five-year-old Calamia, it was the fifth time a horse trained byEtienne de Mestre had won the Melbourne Cup.^[2]

1877 cup winnerChester fell and collided with a post during the race. Chester's veteran jockey Joe Morrison was seriously injured in the fall, suffering a badly broken leg, an injury from which he never really recovered.^[3][4][5]

Highly fancied runner First King had suffered an injury prior to the race and had to be withdrawn byJames Wilson ahead of the day of the race, while previous year's winnerChester had shown good form again in the lead-up, winning theMelbourne Stakes on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup, easily beating both Cap-a-pie and Device. Savanaka, who had come second the previous year was not well-backed by its stable a year later, eventually being withdrawn from the race on the day.^[6] Columbus had been heavily backed following theVictoria Derby which was won by Wellington. But the most backed runner was Wilson's Melita, taking favouritism ahead of Wellington and Firebell.^[6] Many believed that Chester would be able to repeat its win from the year before.^[7]

Cup Day dawned under grey skies, but brightened as the morning progressed, and by the time the race was run the weather had turned to pleasant sunshine, albeit with a cool wind.^[8] Following a number of withdrawals, 30 runners were sent to the start. Rapidity jumped clear after the flag fell, leading the field for more than the first mile of the race, Tom Kirk the only runner to match the speed of the leader. When Chester fell rounding a post, its jockey Joe Morrison was badly injured. The fall caused Glengarry to bolt inside the course. Wellington and Fireball looked in good position as the field tried to catch Rapidity, but it was Calamia that lead from beyond the final turn to ease home win by more than two lengths. Tom Kirk and Waxy finished in the minor placings, while the favourite Melita was never really in the race, having been run wide around much of the course.^[8][7]

For jockey Thomas Brown it was his first win in the Melbourne Cup. He would return as a trainer to win the race in1880 with Grand Flaneur. The fifth win in the race for Etienne de Mestre confirmed his standing as Australia's first outstanding racehorse trainer, and his stables at Terrara nearNowra to be the finest in the country.^[5][9][10] In typical style, de Mestre had backed his other runner Firebell to win the race, despite expressing confidence in Calamia.^[11]

As a three-year-old, Calamia had previously won the Randwick Plate over three miles, as well as the Canterbury Plate. In other races, Calamia finished second in the VRC Champion Stakes and the Australian Cup. It was unplaced in a number of races earlier in 1878, having not raced since the autumn race meetings in Sydney.^[12][7][11]

Attendances at the racecourse were estimated to be at a similar level to the previous years,^[13] with thousands of visitors from the other colonies making their way to Melbourne.^[7] Reporters questioned whether the VRC would need to extend the grandstands before the next running of the Melbourne Cup as "for every additional mile of railway that is constructed to connect the country districts with Melbourne an increase in the number of visitors at carnival times may be expected."^[7]

This is the list of placegetters for the 1878 Melbourne Cup.^{[3][14][1][15][6][8][7][11]}

First prize £1790, second prize £50, third prize £20.^[1]

• Melbourne Cup
• List of Melbourne Cup winners
• Victoria Racing Club

• 1878 Melbourne Cup footyjumpers.com

• Melbourne Cup
• 1878 in Australian sport
• 1878 in horse racing
• 19th century in Melbourne
• 1870s in Melbourne

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