For many punters it's about big hats, big bets and the free flow of champagne. For jockey Darren Beadman, the ultimate prize for riding in Australia's most famous horserace today is being a faithful witness to Jesus.
As the Melbourne Cup stops the nation this afternoon, Sydney's leading jockey has asked his congregation of St Martin's, Kensington to pray for him and his wife Kim.
In prayer points in a recent church bulletin, the Beadmans asked for prayer for the safety of jockeys, horses and racing officials at the Cup and especially for Darren's ride on Dizelle, who could be the first horse to ever win from Barrier 18.
The couple shared the pressure and high hopes of the racing industry on this day of days.
"The stress associated with this time of year is high for everyone in the racing industry, especially those with high hopes in all of the big races over the cup carnival," they wrote.
"For the industry it’s the cream of the crop, and these are the races everyone dreams of winning, but there is always only one winner" Many who walk away disappointed, some even shattered.
"Please pray that in all that we do we would be a great witness of Christ and his love for all people, that his grace would flow through us at all times and that when people spend time with us they would come away knowing there is a God in heaven who loves them."
Beadman, who has won the Melbourne Cup twice - in 1990 on Kingston Rule and on Saintly in 1996, both trained by Bart Cummings - stunned the industry when on Boxing Day 1997 he announced his early retirement from racing in order to go to Bible College.
According to media commentators, he is now in the peak of his career since getting back in the saddle in 2000.
The Rev Jeremy Tonks, Rector of Kensington says the Beadmans have been members of the St Martin's congregation since May this year.
Mr Tonks is a member of the Australian Racing Christian Chaplaincy (ARCC) and ministers to those working at nearby Randwick racecourse.
Together with fellow racing chaplain the Rev Paul Bayliss, he runs a Bible study for people in the industry at the Doncaster Hotel on Anzac Parade on Mondays afternoons.
ARCC (previously known as ACRIM) was established in Sydney in 1996 by Paul Bayliss to recruit and coordinate the work of racetrack chaplains. It is now an inter-church association in NSW working to establishing a racetrack chaplaincy program for the Australian thoroughbred horse racing industry.
"The aim of ARCC is to get full-time Christian workers onto the racetrack," Mr Tonks said.
"My big concern is for the people who aren't at the glamorous end of the industry, who don't work in great conditions, but who love horses."
"I'm very much aware that this is an industry that surrounds the church [at Kensington]. We really are in the middle of it " we can hear and smell the horses."
In other sports news, Sports and Leisure Ministries is backing the plan of its first National Director and AFL Melbourne Demons chaplain, Cameron Butler, to triple the number of sports chaplains by 2008.
Mr Butler unveiled his plan at a conference in Canberra in September attended by over 50 national sporting chaplains and sports ministry supporters.
Support the work of NSW racing chaplains by visiting [url=http://www.arcc.org.au]http://www.arcc.org.au[/url]
With additional reporting by Tim Boehm
Photo: sxc.hu
