| 1870 Melbourne Cup | |
| Horse Race: | Melbourne Cup |
| Location: | Flemington Racecourse |
| Date: | 10 Nov 1870 |
| Distance: | 2 miles |
| Winning Horse: | Nimblefoot |
| Winning Time: | 3:37.0 |
| Final Odds: | 12/1 |
| Winning Jockey: | John Day |
| Winning Trainer: | W. Lang |
| Surface: | Turf |
| Attendance: | 30,000 |
| Previous: | 1869 |
| Next: | 1871 |
The 1870 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 10 November 1870. This year was the tenth running of the Melbourne Cup. The entire carnival was pushed back a week due to a waterlogged track.
The race became a big part of Melbourne Cup folklore. Ballarat publican Walter Craig bought Nimblefoot from Melbourne bookmaker Joe Thompson. The story goes that several months before the 1870 race Craig dreams of a horse in his colours winning the race but with its jockey wearing a black arm band, a sign of mourning. Craig told friends about this and was sure that Nimblefoot would win, but he would not live to see the 12/1 shot's tense battle with Lapdog.[1] William Craig died on the morning of 17 August from gout and pneumonia. The story of his dream first appeared three months later, in the Bendigo Independent and was recounted in The Age newspaper the day before the Cup.[2] In the story Craig saw a horse, whose jockey was wearing his colours and a black armband, win the Cup.Samuel Griffiths, handicapper and turf historian, scotched the story as having been fabricated by the bookmaker Joseph Bragge "Leviathan" Slack.[3]
The winning time of 3:37.0 was at the time the fastest winning time in the race's history.[4] This is the list of placegetters for the 1870 Melbourne Cup.[5]
| Place | Name | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nimblefoot | John Day | W. Lang |
| 2 | Lapdog | J. Wilson Jr | |
| 3 | Valentine | H. Howard |