When the Melbourne Cup is mentioned in general, one name always emerges as being synonymous with the race:

James Bartholomew Cummings

Bart Cummings, also known as the 'Cups King', holds a unique and distinguished position within the Australian cultural landscape. His larger-than-life persona, his candor, and his dry humour made him a beloved figure. An innovative individual whose enduring impact as the preeminent figure in Australia's most prestigious horse racing event continues to shape the sport's legacy. Not only was Cummings a champion trainer, he became an icon upon which the wider public could anchor their understanding of the sport for 50 years. His demeanour, both charismatic and elusive, intelligent, yet sometimes blunt, funny but honest, mirrored a post-War era where Australia moved culturally out of the overt influence of Britain. Everything about Bart was quintessentially Australian and his dominance of Australia's most iconic race made him a hero to every battling punter.

Bart Cummings, also known as J.B Cummings, was the son of the renowned horse trainer, Irish born Jim Cummings, who achieved great success by training the exceptional stayer, Comic Court to a triumphant victory in the 1950 Melbourne Cup. Despite his initial allergies to horses and hay, Bart commenced his professional journey as a strapper under the guidance of his father. In 1953, he obtained his own training license, utilising his father's Adelaide stables. As a young man, Cummings went two years without training a single winner, but refused to give it away. His first metro winner was Wells, at his local track, Morphettville in 1955. Subsequently, in 1958, he made a significant investment by purchasing his first yearling. That same year he had his first runner in the great race when Asian Court, appropriately a son of Comic Court, ran 12th. Bart still achieved remarkable success in 1958 by winning his first feature race, the esteemed South Australian Derby with Stormy Passage. His career was nearly derailed before it started when he was suspended for 12 months after Cilldara won a handicap race at Morphettville in November 1961 after running last the week before, much to the ire of the stewards. Cummings had applied blinkers to the horse just weeks after they had been cleared as legal for trainers to use, and the horse duly won in a sensational form reversal at big odds. His father Jim took over the training of his horses while Bart travelled to New Zealand and sourced the filly, Light Fingers, and the rest is history.

Cummings first hit the headlines when he not only won his first Melbourne Cup in 1965 at age of 37 with Light Fingers, but also went on to train the winners of the two subsequent years, Galilee in 1966 and Red Handed in 1967. For good measure, he also trained the second placegetters in 1965 and 1966, and won his first SA Trainer's Premiership that same season. This was just the start of his affinity with the Melbourne Cup. In 1966/67, Cummings scored seven Group Cup wins when he trained the winners of the Melbourne, Caulfield, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sandown and Queens Cups with four different horses. Proving his versatility as a trainer, Cummings also trained horses at the time which were winning Group 1 sprint races, such as the Lightning Stakes with Anna Rose, and the major Group 1 race for two-year-olds, the Golden Slipper Stakes with Storm Queen.

Cummings established stables at Flemington in 1968, which were still his Melbourne headquarters until his passing, and set up stables at Randwick in 1975, from which he managed his training and spelling operations. In addition to his 12 Melbourne Cups, he won the Caulfield Cup seven times, the Golden Slipper Stakes four times, the Cox Plate five times, the VRC Oaks nine times and the Newmarket Handicap eight times. He also won the Australian Cup thirteen times. In 1974, Cummings was the first trainer not only in Australia, but also in the British Commonwealth to train the earners of over one million dollars in prize money. The prize money earnings were supported by 20 Group 1 wins, which included Leilani’s five Group 1 successes and the first of Think Big’s two Melbourne Cups.

Over the course of 62 years, Cummings demonstrated exceptional talent and expertise, accumulating an impressive total of 268 Group 1 race victories and 750 stakes victories. In 1989/90, Cummings won the trainers premiership in three different states, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, the first time it had ever been done. The establishment of the Racing Hall of Fame occurred in 2001, and Cummings was an inaugural inductee. In 2004, Cummings received a surprise honour from the VRC. The club presented him with Lifetime Membership, the first time a trainer has received the honour. The VRC also re-named the 2500m open handicap race previously known as ‘The Banjo Paterson’ race, ‘The Bart Cummings’ race, which appropriately, is a Melbourne Cup qualifying race.

While Cummings' successes extended far and wide, it was those Tuesdays in November that made him a national icon. He inspired countless people to become involved with racing through those victories. His own family legacy continued initially through his son Anthony, a winner of 20 Group one races in his own right, a record he continues to build on as well with Anthony's son's, James, and Edward's involvement.

His twelve Melbourne Cup winners are: Light Fingers (1965), Galilee (1966), Red Handed (1967), Think Big (1974 & 1975), Gold and Black (1977), Hyperno (1979), Kingston Rule (1990), Let’s Elope (1991), Saintly (1996), Rogan Josh (1999) and Viewed (2008).