The Home Straight Enclosure Flemington

We have a few tickets remaining for the World Supercross Australian GP at Marvel Stadium on Friday and Saturday nights. If you are interested call or message Brian @ Mercury Principle Events on 0418 358 916

Unfortunately The Home Straight is officially finished the VRC have decided that it will not becoming back anytime soon and to be honest Mercury Principle Events aren’t prepared to start from scratch to rebuild it again.

We are very disappointed as it was my baby and I it built from nothing to becoming one of the most popular spots on the track.

MPE will still be providing hospitality in different locations on track so email [email protected] with your required numbers and the days you wish to attend and I will respond with options.

Brian Phillips
Mercury Principle Events

Well another Melbourne Cup Carnival run has been run and won, congratulations to all the connections of Gold Trip. The weather held out for the Cup and the presentations thankfully.

It was disappointing to see there was no The Home Straight Enclosure Flemington and The Winning Post Enclosure was reduced to a single storey facility. In the space where the Home Straight usually catered for up 1600 guests it was bare. Normally they would have enjoyed a day of fantastic food and beverages, watched every race from the elevated viewing area and then partied the day away in the gardens with our live band, but it was bare.

Who knows the VRC may look at bringing them both back in 2023 although I am not confident. It is a great shame as it is a fantastic location to see all the races live unlike some of the new areas that you only see one or two live races past them each day.

Mercury Principle Events offers packages to most premium sporting events including the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, Cricket at the MCG and all the AFL games at the MCG and Marvel Stadium.

We look forward to hearing from you for any of these events.

Brian Phillips
Mercury Principle Events

We might not have The Home Straight Enclosure but we still have our AFL Medallion Club Seats every week at the MCG and Marvel Stadium.

Limited number of dining packages available for Collingwood v Carlton next week and also AFL Grand Final Packages are now on sale.

For all those wishing to book Melbourne Cup Carnival hospitality this year, there are very few options available in the price range we offered the Home Straight for in previous years. I will give a brief overview of a couple but availability is limited as so little product is being offered.

The Furphy Deck is the entry level product cocktail food with a beer and wine package. Bear in mind this product offers no protection from the elements apart from umbrellas, great if it is fine weather. Cup Day Sold Out other days available but numbers are limited.

A new facility is the Riverside Bar and Bistro it will be ok but please note you will only have 2 races actually run past you on cup and derby days, one on other days as it is located on the back turn. So if you are a keen Punter you are probably not going to be happy here. That is despite the information saying see every race up close, well you will after all but two races are finished. Cup Day $950pp.

Makybe Diva Marquee

Good location with views over the track (not from in the marquee though) been around for 10+ years plated menu with beer and wine package. Cup Day $1200 very limited numbers. Other days still available.

There are other options above $1200 per person available.

To book any of these go to the the VRC website or Ticketmaster

Sorry we don’t have any products available this year.

Mercury Principle Events

Sad to see the old boy it was a great win back in 1999

The 1999 Melbourne Cup winner Rogan Josh has died at the age 29.

He was humanely euthanised following colic related complications.

A BIG Night of Boxing featuring some AFL Heavyweights. Sure to be a great night get in early to secure the best seats. Mercury Principle Events 03 9425 9449

Wednesday August 3rd at Margaret Court Arena is shaping up to be a HUGE night. Get in early to secure some great seats for the AFL Fight Night and see a few AFL Heavyweights slog it out. It will be a great nights entertainment. Contact us to book both corporate and seat only. 03 9425 9449 Mercury Principle Events

A regular feature of The Home Straight Enclosure over the last 10 years was invited to go back to where it’s life in the entertainment industry began. Keep an eye out for the latest series of Spicks & Specks where one of our chandeliers is featured heavily in the show.

Great Seats to the A-League Grand Final are available.

Ahh the old Home Straight, looks a bit overgrown these days. Just in the neighbourhood so dropped in. If only.

Update on the 2022 Melbourne Cup and The Home Straight Enclosure. Regrettably, we have just been informed by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) that the Home Straight and The Winning Post Enclosures are highly unlikely to proceed again in 2022. If it does, it will be in a much different format and possibly in another location (so it won't be the WP or HSE) than they have been in the past.

The Home Straight was conceived by Mercury Principle Events in 2010 after listening to our clients that felt the basic Cup Carnival dining experience was getting out of their reach. So we created it to meet that demand and it grew from 200 people the first year to reach its capacity of over 1500 clients a day very quickly.

I am very proud of the enclosure that we created and the fantastic feedback it received in the 10 years of operations and the amazing retention rate of clients during that time, many have been with us the entire journey. We have had 18th, 21st, and 80th birthdays, and all years in between celebrated with us, an engagement party, and even a wedding reception.

We have endured torrential rain, scorching heat, and been battered by cyclonic winds but throughout it, the main thing was the enjoyment of our guests and providing "a what the client wanted" experience. That was and remains today the focus of this company in all the events we do.

The Home Straight gave many the chance to cross something off their Bucket List, seeing the Cup, Derby, Oaks, or Stakes run and won while having a seat to hang their jacket or handbag and enjoy the food and beverages supplied by our caterers.

For the majority of the time that was Atlantic Group, Hatem Saleh, and his amazing team of chefs, wait, and back-of-house staff that has provided a restaurant dining experience in what was essentially a paddock for 51 weeks of the year.

All our other suppliers including Rich & Dave from TCL, Glen from Splashdown, Harry the Hirer who has been at Flemington for 30 + years, and their boys and girls who worked so hard to get all the structure up and ready for us each year. Blush Band who entertained the crowds on the Garden stage
each year thanks.

Lastly thank you to all my Team at Mercury Principle Events who over the years have delivered an amazing product often working into the wee small hours to make sure the 1500+ guests were all at the correct tables and all the dietary requirements were correct and people were on the buses in time. Without you, it wouldn't have happened.

We hope that we will be able to offer our many clients another product in mid-June when we have been advised of the other products that will be released.

Thanks for the great memories, from the bloke in the shorts and Fluro.

Brian Phillips
Mercury Principle Events

Happy Birthday Old Girl and many more to come.

A very happy 23rd birthday to Makybe Diva!
🏆🏆🏆

The Autumn "Long Lunch" it was also a chance to have a meeting with the VRC to discuss the 2022 Melbourne Cup in "The Home Straight and Winning Post Enclosures". Well we said that!

YES AT LAST!!!!!!!!!
Footy is back in Melbourne this week, great Medallion Club seats on level 2. Call the office on 03 9425 9449 or email [email protected] to book your seats

We have a small number of packages available for this week at Flemington on Cup, Oaks and Stakes Days. These packages are not the usual Home Straight offering we normally have they are ”The Luxe Pods” located on the lawn at the front of what is normally “The Birdcage”.

They seat 6 guests outdoors with umbrellas and full food and beverage including waiter service. The live stage is located nearby with headline acts each day including Delta Goodrem on Cup Day.

Cost is $585 per person each day and all guest must be double vaccinated. It is a great package but bookings are for groups of 6.

For more details call the office on 03 9425 9449 or email [email protected]

There is limited supply so don’t miss this great opportunity.

A quick update for The Home Straight and Winning Post Enclosures for the 2021 Melbourne Cup Carnival.

It is doubtful with current COVID restrictions that there will be any hospitality available this year's event.

We have had a couple of calls from people saying that they have seen packages advertised elsewhere. If you do book these make sure they are fully refundable if the event doesn't go ahead and you don't just get a credit for some future event.

The VRC are currently not offering any packages for sale so our recommendation is not to commit to anything without speaking to us or the VRC first.

We look forward to having you back in 2022.

The Team at Mercury Principle Events

After a huge clash at the G today the Pies put another nail in the Tigers 2021 season. But with that win it will be a massive game next week when the Pies and Blues clash at the MCG on Sunday afternoon. We have seats available in our corporate suite and also dining packages in our level 2 Medallion Club seats. Call Brian on 0418 358 916 or message us.

Many people know about our racing packages Mercury Principle Events have been an approved AFL partner for over 20 years. we have Medallion Club memberships at both the MCG and Marvel Stadium, As always the are the best seats in the house, please contact us to book or for more details.

Melbourne is truly the home of the AFL this weekend with so many games being played here including a Double Header at The G on Saturday. Our Medallion Club seats at The G are level 2 centre wing undercover and the Marvel Stadium seats are the same with video screens in each seat and access to bars and restaurants.

We have a limited number of seats available for all games including the Pies v Saints game. To book call me on 0418 358 916 or message me.

After the disaster of the last 16 months that COVID has brought upon the world, the event industry like so many others has been decimated.

We have been officially advised yesterday by the Victoria Racing Club that the centre of the track will not be part of one of the COVID Safe Zones, so both The Winning Post Enclosure and The Home Straight Enclosure will not be operating again in 2021.

While the VRC have relocated a small part of The Winning Post Enclosure to the Trackside Enclosure, currently there isn’t an available area to relocate The Home Straight Enclosure to. The VRC hope to have another facility operating to offer something similar to this segment of the market.

I totally appreciate all the hard work the VRC team have done to try and get the event back up and running in some form again in 2021 unfortunately unless we are able to supply The Home Straight in the way we have since creating it over 10 years ago, I would prefer to wait until we are back in control of the product in its usual location with all the bells and whistles all our clients enjoyed so much in the past.

Once a final decision has been made by the VRC on an alternative product we will advise all our guests on what it is and availability and how to book it.

The Home Straight Enclosure was introduced in 2010 after I identified that many people wanted to enjoy a Melbourne Cup Hospitality Experience but many options had become out of reach of those all but the top end of town.

From the first year we have had great support and the enclosure has grown and evolved into a peak of 1500 guests each day in 2019.

Mercury Principle Events have been a partner of the VRC since 1996 and consider us a part of the “VRC Family” and look forward to being back doing what we love next year.

I want to thank all supply partners we have worked with in the 25 years plus we have been on track and the staff at the VRC who we consider friends more than just commercial relationships.

Just a few of those are

Life’s A Party Catering
Harry The Hirer
Heide Electrics
Atlantic Group Catering
Cool Breeze Air Cond
Event Studios Aust
Blush Band

All the VRC Staff past and present especially those in the Commerical Dept, Event Office and the VRC gardners who work so hard each year to make the enclosure a joy for all our guests, thanks Terry, Mick and the team.

And finally thanks to all The Mercury Principle Team that have worked so hard to make The Home Straight Enclosure the success it was and look forward to being back again in 2022 to again providing the best hospitality options at “The Race That Stops A Nation”.

Until we are back stay safe and I hope you back the winner of the 2021 Cup.

Brian Phillips
Mercury Principle Events

An update on the Home Straight Enclosure for 2021, we hope to have a definitive answer from the VRC in the next two weeks as to what we are able to offer for packages this year. We are hopeful that we will be able offer packages very similar to our normal offerings again this year once all details have been finalised. Stay tuned

Mercury Principle Events also has the best seats in the house for the AFL, our Medallion Club seats are level 2 centre wing at both the MCG and Marvel Stadium.

Message us or call the office on 03 9425 9449 for details

Melbourne has another big weekend of footy ahead. Starting with the Pies coming off a win on the weekend against The Blues taking on the Lions after being locked here in Melbourne.

We have the following available for the weekend.

Pies v Lions Marvel Thursday (N): 6 Seats Available
Roos v Dogs Marvel Friday (T): 4 Seats Available
Tigers v Swans MCG Saturday (D): 6 Seats Available
Bombers v Saints Marvel Saturday (T): 2 Seats Available
Blues v Dockers Marvel Sunday (D): 4 Seats Available
Cats v Hawks MCG (D): 2 Seats Available