# Thousands attend Flemington’s Derby Day as Melbourne Carnival opens

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/glamorous-derby-day-revellers-let-their-hair-down-in-style-with-a-huge-crowd-flocking-to-flemington-racecourse-in-mostly-black-and-white-to-kickstart-melbournes-spring-racing-carnival/
- Published: 2026-10-31T08:21:46+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T08:32:29+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16254339/Glamorous-Derby-Day-revellers-let-hair-style-huge-crowd-flocking-Flemington-Racecourse-black-white-kickstart-Melbournes-Spring-Racing-Carnival.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, Art, Business, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Fashion, Markets, World

## Key points

- Derby Day drew thousands to Flemington in black and white.
- Waller and McDonald won the Derby and Empire Rose Stakes.
- The Next Episode won the Coolmore Stud Stakes by a narrow margin.

## Summary

Thousands of racegoers in mostly black and white attended Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse, opening Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival with racing and social events. The card featured three Group 1 races, with trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald winning two, while The Next Episode took the third.

Stormy Marco won the $3 million Derby for Waller and McDonald, who also partnered Lady Shenandoah to victory in the Empire Rose Stakes. The Next Episode, trained by Ciaron Maher and ridden by Mark Zahra, narrowly beat St Gotthard in the Coolmore Stud Stakes; the colt had cost $2.8 million as a yearling and has won five of seven starts. In the Derby, Pondalowie fell and jockey Harry Coffey was thrown, but he was soon on his feet while vets assessed the horse.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.