Lexus Melbourne Cup tours to Mount Isa and Boulia

The $600,000 18-carat-gold trophy will visit Boulia on Saturday 15 July to attend the Boulia Camel Races also known as the 'Melbourne Cup of Camel Racing', before travelling to visit Mount Isa on Sunday 16 July - Tuesday 18 July for a range of community events.

Three-time Lexus Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Glen Boss, who is best known for riding Makybe Diva to three consecutive Melbourne Cup wins, will also accompany the Cup on its journey.

The People's Cup will begin its outback adventure in Boulia on Saturday, where it will attend the camel races to experience the excitement of a race day with the unique landscapes of Outback Queensland.

At 10:00am the Cup will be trackside to watch the racehorse versus camel race, where racing legend Glen Boss will present the winner with their trophy. The Cup will then make its way through the crowd to provide the community with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up close and experience the magic of the Lexus Melbourne Cup.

In the afternoon, the Cup will stop by to watch some camel tagging and continue to enjoy the festivities before attending a meet-and-greet with local trainers and jockeys.

Julie Woodhouse from the Boulia Shire Council said the community was looking forward to being part of this year's tour.

"Boulia is known for our iconic Boulia Camel Races, also cheekily known as the 'Melbourne Cup' of camel racing, so it's only fitting the iconic Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy visits as part of it's annual tour! We look forward to sharing the Cup with the community."

Boulia Camel Races President Shelley Lorensen explained "it's a wonderful coincidence that this weekend we have our local Woodhouse Camel Racing Team vying to win our big 1500m Better Beer Cup to make it a hat-trick hometown win in our version of the Melbourne Cup and at the same time we have Glen Boss visiting who himself took out a hat-trick win at the real Melbourne Cup!"

On Sunday, the Cup will begin its tour of Mount Isa where it will visit some of the outback town's iconic locations before heading to the William Barton and Queensland Orchestra to celebrate Mount Isa's 100th anniversary with the local community.

On Monday, the Cup will visit some local students before attending an evening event hosted by Mount Isa Race Club. Guests are invited to gather for a night to celebrate racing and hear from racing legend Glen Boss as he shares his favourite Melbourne Cup memories.

On Tuesday the iconic trophy will travel to Camooweal to visit the Royal Flying Doctors Service which is Mount Isa's nominated charity in this year's Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep.

Mount Isa Race Club president Jay Morris said the club was thrilled to host this year's tour.

"Mount Isa is very excited to be part of the 2023 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour. This year we are able to celebrate our 100 years as a town and are looking forward to coinciding the Cup Tour's visit with our community milestone." Mr Morris said.

Boulia and Mount Isa will also be part of the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep, which will see 24 rural and regional Cup Tour destinations across Australia be allocated a barrier for the 2023 Lexus Melbourne Cup.

The town which draws the barrier of the Lexus Melbourne Cup-winning horse will be presented with a cash prize of $50,000 to put towards a nominated charity for a local initiative.

VRC Chairman Neil Wilson said the record-breaking interest in the tour highlights the significance of the Lexus Melbourne Cup to people of Australia and around the world.

"The $600,000 18-carat-gold Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy is recognised everywhere as the People's Cup, and we want it to be accessible to everyone and to support charity fund raising activity in each destination the cup visits," Mr Wilson said.

"As its custodians, the VRC is proud to take it on an annual tour to share the magic of the Lexus Melbourne Cup with country towns, cities, and communities across the world."

Since its inaugural journey in 2003, the tour has travelled more than 900,000 kilometres, visited more than 590 regional, rural and metropolitan destinations, and helped communities raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity and community initiatives.

This year's tour will be unlike any other, with the coveted trophy set to visit a total of 41 destinations with the final route spanning seven countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Hong Kong and Japan.