Melbourne Cup: Oily sludge dumped on track ahead of race

The attack happened at the 1500 metre mark of the track, with Racing Victoria forced to make quick repairs ahead of the race at 3pm.

Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion praised the vandal attack and shared the video to its Twitter page.

"This morning XR was contacted by friends who had dumped 1000 litres of sludge onto Flemington Racecourse ahead of today's Melbourne Cup activities," it wrote.

The group added that it "fully endorsed" the person who vandalised the track, and posted a statement it said was written by the vandal.

The vandal admits to being a "problem gambler" and said flood-proofing the track led to surrounding homes being flooded in recent heavy rains.

"That wall should never have been built. What is known only as a racecourse to them, is a crucial natural floodplain, that would have lowered flood levels in homes if not for the interests of the powerful racing and gambling industry," the statement reads.

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"This act of corporate negligence and callous disregard is the final straw in a long line of horrors I have now come to know about this industry.

"Being a problem gambler has opened my eyes to the horrors of the racing industry; the horses don't want to be ridden and whipped, punters don't know how much the odds are against us, and racing elites callously ignored community opposition to the building of their wall which contributed to the recent flooding of local homes."

ACM understands Victoria Police have been called to investigate.

Racing Victoria is yet to respond to ACM's request for comment.