In the near-decade since I wrote about why you should passionately hate the Melbourne Cup and the horseracing industry more generally, none of the problems I described back then have gone away. The racing industry still kills its workers — ten jockeys have died since 2014. Horseracing still slaughters horses — two died at the Melbourne Cup immediately after I wrote the original piece, another four have died at cups since then, and the number of horses killed on racetracks nationally in 2022-23 hit a new record of 168.

The industry is still infested with organised crime and money laundering — probably more so now given casinos have been forced to rein in their money laundering practices. Guardian Australia revealed last month that anti-money laundering laws do not cover racehorse investment, a key area of money laundering by criminals. Even media advocates for the industry have warned that racing must take urgent steps to prevent organised crime from extending its role within it.

And despite industry claims about how popular racing is, it’s still dependent on massive handouts from state governments, which give tens of millions of dollars to the industry on the basis of alleged, though never demonstrated, benefits to tourism.