Melbourne Cup 2024

The 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup runs at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday the 5th of November, 2024 as Flemington Race 7 at 3:00pm (AEDT). 

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The Melbourne Cup is the biggest race run in Australia each year and the two mile classic takes place on the first Tuesday of November as Flemington Race 7 each spring. The highlight of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, the Group 1 staying showdown attracts a field of genuine turf stars including a host of international raiders.

Offering an incredible $8.56 million in prize money and trophies ($7.75 million prize money and $810,000 in trophies), the Melbourne Cup is the richest handicap race in the world and is third in prize money only to the $20 million The Everest and $10 million The Golden Eagle held in Sydney when it comes to flat racing in Australia.

Cross Counter (2018) continued the recent dominance of internationals in the Melbourne Cup results. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Key lead-up races into the Melbourne Cup field each season include the Group 1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) and the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m).

In 2022 the Geelong Cup winner Emissary ran a brave second in the Melbourne Cup quinella at a big price.

Makybe Diva (2005) was the last horse to take out the Cox Plate – Melbourne Cup double without a run between the two spring majors. She also saluted in the 2003 and 2004 Melbourne Cup results and is the sole triple champion of the ‘race that stops a nation’.

In 2021 Verry Elleegant became the 14th overall mare and 12th individual female galloper to win the Lexus Melbourne Cup improving on a lead-up third in the Cox Plate.

In 2022 there were five mares that started in the Melbourne Cup field with the best result being a third from High Emocean who finished in the money behind her winning stablemate Gold Trip.

The Geelong Cup – Melbourne Cup double meanwhile was last completed by Dunaden (2011) who was the second French raider in as many years to take out the latter after Americain won the same two races the previous spring.

Held on Turnbull Stakes Day in early October, the Group 3 The Bart Cummings also offers a Melbourne cup ballot exemption.

The Melbourne Cup race runs over 3200m and is one of the few events still contested over this traditional Cups’ distance in Australia. The Melbourne Cup prize money has increased dramatically over the years since the race was first sponsored in 1985 and stakes went up to $1 million.

International horses are making more and more of an impact in the Melbourne Cup results. The first Northern hemisphere-trained Melbourne Cup winners was the Dermot Weld-trained Vintage Crop (1993), while from 2014 – 2020 five of the seven Melbourne Cup winners were from overseas including in 2020 when Twilight Payment defeated fellow raiders Tiger Moth and Prince Of Arran in an all-international Melbourne Cup trifecta.

There were two internationally-trained horses in the 2022 Melbourne Cup with Deauville Legend running fourth as the beaten favourite and Without A Fight running 13th.

Shocking (2009) meanwhile was the last Australian-bred Melbourne Cup winner before Vow And Declare (2019) broke the drought saluting for Australia in the 2019 Melbourne Cup Results.

In 2021 the internationals were again in the Melbourne Cup trifecta with Spanish Mission from the UK running third behind Verry Elleegant and the beaten favourite Incentivise.

The 2022 Melbourne Cup winner, Gold Trip, was French-bred and imported but officially trained in Australia by Ciaron Maher & David Eustace.

The 2023 Melbourne Cup winner, Without A Fight, improved on his 13th as an international the year before with the now Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained galloper backing-up off a Group 1 Caulfield Cup victory. He became the first to do the Spring Cups double since Ethereal in 2001.

There have been many dual Melbourne Cup champions since the first, inaugural winner Archer going back-to-back in 1861-62, but Makybe Diva (2003-05) remains the only triple Melbourne Cup winner in history.

The Melbourne Cup training record is held by former champion horseman Bart Cummings dubbed the “Cup King”. Cummings celebrated his 12th Melbourne Cup victory in 2008 with Viewed.

The closest ever finish in Melbourne Cup history occurred in 2011 when the French-trained Dunaden narrowly held off Red Cadeuax. Dunaden was also the second French galloper in as many years to win top prize after Americain became the first in 2010 for the 150th anniversary of the Melbourne Cup.

From 2022, Sydney runs the $3 million The Big Dance (1600m) race at Royal Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day each year.

Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington meanwhile is also host to two Group 3 support races with the running of the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) for two-year-olds and the Group 3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m).

The 164th edition of the Melbourne Cup runs on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 as Flemington Race 7. 

2024 Melbourne Cup Odds

The latest Melbourne Cup 2024 odds will be updated below as the count down to the iconic two-mile handicap continues.

Melbourne Cup Race Info

• Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2024
• Edition: 163rd
• Track: Flemington Racecourse
• Distance: 3200m
• Conditions: Handicap
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $7.75 million + $810,000 in trophies
• First Run: 1861

2024 MELBOURNE CUP PREVIEW

2024 MELBOURNE CUP BETTING

2024 Melbourne Cup Results

• 1st: TBD
  
  

  2023 Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight was excellent charging home by over two lengths off a lead-up win in the Caulfield Cup. Photo: Steve Hart.

• 2nd: TBD
• 3rd: TBD
• 4th: TBD

The official Melbourne Cup 2024 results revealing the 2024 Melbourne Cup winner will be published right here once the race is run and won on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

Melbourne Cup Betting

Melbourne Cup betting markets are available months in advance of the race and these pre-field odds are also known as ante-post or futures markets.

The Melbourne Cup is not only the biggest race in Australian horse racing, but is arguably the most popular event in the country every single year. Even non-racing fans are looking frantically for the best Melbourne Cup odds come race day, with sweeps also occurring in workplaces across the country.

Pre-post betting markets for the Melbourne Cup are available all year round, but the real money is invested in the three days prior to the race. The Melbourne Cup is easily the most popular betting event in Australia and the staggering amount of money wagered on the race means that there is generally great value available for every single runner in the field.

Melbourne Cup favourites have a poor record in the race with the only one to salute for the punters since Makybe Diva (2005) being Fiorente ($7 in 2013). Roughie hopes in Melbourne Cup betting have had plenty of success including most famously in recent years Prince Of Penzance ($101) who scored the upset at triple figures for trainer Darren Weir in 2015.

There were big Melbourne Cup odds on offer for the 2020 winner Twilight Payment who won at 25/1.

The 2021 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant won at odds of $18 improving on her seventh the year before.

There was also value to be found in the 2022 Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip who won at $21 defeating fellow outsiders in betting Emissary ($26) and High Emocean ($41), while the 2022 Melbourne Cup favourite Deauville Legend ($4.40) ran fourth.

The 2023 Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight was at single-figures saluting as an $8 shot in Melbourne Cup betting. He defeated the Chris Waller-trained Soulcombe ($9.50) and Sheraz ($151).

Melbourne Cup Field

The Melbourne Cup race field has a capacity of 24 horses with no emergencies allowed for the iconic Flemington Race 7 on the first Tuesday of November annually.

In 2020 the Melbourne Cup field ran with just 23 starters following the race day scratching of King Of Leogrance.

There were also 23 horses in the Melbourne Cup 2021 field after the race morning withdrawal of Future Score.

The 2022 Melbourne Cup field ran with 22 horses after Point Nepean and Lunar Flare were scratched from the original line-up of final acceptors.

The 2023 Melbourne Cup final field ran with 23 runners after Cleveland was scratched on the eve of the race.

Melbourne Cup Ballot Exempt Races

There are currently eight races offering a “golden ticket” into the Melbourne Cup field with the following races offering the winners a ballot free ride for the famous Flemington feature.

International Melbourne Cup ballot exemption races:

• The Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup (3219m)
• Listed Ebor Handicap (2816m)

Australian Melbourne Cup ballot exemption races:

• Lexus Roy Higgins (2600m)
• Listed Lexus Andrew Ramsden (2800m)
• Group 3 Lexus Archer Stakes (2500m)
• Group 3 Lexus Bart Cummings (2500m)
• Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m)
• Group 1 W.S. Cox Plate (2040m)

Melbourne Cup final acceptances close on Victoria Derby Day the Saturday prior, which is the first meeting of the four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival, while the early Melbourne Cup nominations are taken way back in late August or early September.

Any horse balloted out of the 24-starter Melbourne Cup field that goes on to win the Group 3 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) on Champions Stakes Day the following Saturday is eligible for a VRC Bonus.

2024 Melbourne Cup Acceptance Dates

Click here to view the complete 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup race conditions.

• 2024 Melbourne Cup Nominations: Closed on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 @ 12:00pm (Melbourne time) attracting 123 entries including 20 internationals. 
• 2024 Melbourne Cup Late Entries: Close on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 @ 12:00pm (Melbourne time)
• 2024 Melbourne Cup First Declarations: Close on Tuesday, October 1 , 2024 @ 12:00pm (Melbourne time).
• 2024 Melbourne Cup Handicaps: Weights declared Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
• 2024 Melbourne Cup Second Declarations: Close on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 @ 12:00pm.
• 2024 Melbourne Cup Third Declarations: Close on Monday, October 28, 2024 @ 12:00pm (Melbourne time).
• 2024 Melbourne Cup Final Field: Announced Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 4:30pm (Melbourne time) on Victoria Derby Day.
• 2024 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw: Takes place on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 6:30pm (Melbourne time) following the Derby Day racing.

2024 Melbourne Cup Final Field & Barrier Draw

The Melbourne Cup 2024 Field & Barriers will be out the Saturday prior to the big $8.56 million classic and will be detailed in the section below when it’s made available by Racing Victoria following the VRC Derby Day races.

The 2024 Melbourne Cup barrier draw takes place on the Saturday evening from 6:30pm (AEDT).

Melbourne Cup Tips

General Melbourne Cup betting tips include looking for international performers, proven two mile horses and gallopers coming off a top four run last start.

From 2009 – 2023 all but two of the Melbourne Cup winners finished first four in their lead-up run including four coming off a victory. In 2022 Gold Trip improved on a lead-up ninth in the Cox Plate to win the 162nd Melbourne Cup.

In 2023 Without A Fight won the Melbourne Cup off a lead-up victory in the Caulfield Cup the month before.

Melbourne Cup tips can be found everywhere in the lead-up to the race, but the big field, handicap conditions and distance of the race make it very difficult to back the winner. The presence of a number of international horses and a variety of different form lines make it even more difficult to back the winner of the Melbourne Cup, which his why upsets Melbourne Cup results are not uncommon.

Other tips for Melbourne Cup punters is to look at several key lead up races that are considered good guides for Melbourne Cup performance.

Pay attention to strong runs in races like the Cox Plate and the Caulfield Cup.

Fiorente (2013) followed by Verry Elleegant (2021) and Gold Trip (2022) are the latest Melbourne Cup winners to back-up off a Cox Plate having run 3rd, 3rd and 9th.

Gold Trip ran 2nd in the 2022 Caulfield Cup before his Melbourne Cup victory with the Cox Plate run in between, while in 2023 Without A Fight did the Melbourne Cup – Caulfield Cup double for the first time since 2001.

Another tip for people who are looking to have some fun with different bets on the day need not fear the exotics. Picking the Melbourne Cup trifecta pays extremely well along with other exotic bets including the quinella and first four. For instance this year there is plenty of value in horses that have genuine chances at double figure odds.

2024 Melbourne Cup Tips

Our expert team of tipsters will provide the 2024 Melbourne Cup betting tips below closer to Melbourne Cup Day so stay tuned for the stayers to back and sack for the two mile classic this spring.

Once the final field has been accepted and finalised we will be placing our top tips and selections for the Melbourne Cup here.

To Win: TBD

To Challenge: TBD

To Feature: TBD

To Improve: TBD

To Surprise: TBD

What Time Does The Melbourne Cup Run?

All times are for the first Tuesday of November and are local.

• Queensland: 2:00pm
• New South Wales: 3:00pm
• Victoria: 3:00pm
• Tasmania: 3:00pm
• Northern Territory: 1:30pm
• ACT: 3:00pm
• Western Australia: 12:00pm
• UK & Ireland: 4:00am
• New Zealand: 5:00pm
• Japan: 1:00pm
• Hong Kong: 12:00pm
• Dubai: 8:00am

Melbourne Cup Form Guide

The Melbourne Cup form guide is poured over by punters right around Australia and the world in the lead-up to the race.

The Caulfield Cup is generally considered the major lead-up race to the Melbourne Cup, but no horse had completed the Caulfield Cup/Melbourne Cup double since Ethereal in 2001 until the 2023 victory in both events by Without A Fight.

The Cox Plate continues to grow as a Melbourne Cup form guide despite the notable difference in distances between the two spring features. Other races that have produced the Melbourne Cup winner in recent years include the Herbert Power Stakes, the Geelong Cup and the Lexus Stakes.

The Melbourne Cup each year attracts an incredible amount of betting activity and people are always looking out for the best tips to give them the winning edge. The Ladbrokes blog provides in depth racing tips and analysis on a daily basis.

Melbourne Cup Form Facts

• From 2010 – 2023 six internationally-trained raiders saluted in the Melbourne Cup most recently Twilight Payment (2020).
• Trainer Robert Hickmott for prolific owner Lloyd Williams prepared three Melbourne Cup winners between 2012 – 2019.
• In 2020 Lloyd Williams celebrated his record seventh Melbourne Cup success as a trainer.
• Fiorente ($7 in 2013) was the last favourite in Melbourne Cup betting to salute.
• Upset Melbourne Cup results are common with blow-out odds on offer for the likes of Viewed ($41 in 2008), Prince Of Penzance ($101 in 2015) and Twilight Payment ($26 in 2020).
• Barrier 11 has been the most successful Melbourne Cup gate in the past 30 years.
• Triple champion Makybe Diva (2003-05) followed by Verry Elleegant (2021) are the last mares to win the Melbourne Cup.
• Six-year-olds have an outstanding recent record in the Melbourne Cup results with seven winning between 2010 – 2023 most recently Verry Elleegant (2021) and Gold Trip (2022).

2024 Melbourne Cup Form Guide

A link to the official Melbourne Cup 2024 Form Guide will be provided below as soon as the final Melbourne Cup field is announced on the Saturday before the race.

2024 Melbourne Cup Field News

Stay tuned for the latest Melbourne Cup 2024 Field news updates.

2024 Melbourne Cup Jockeys

Stay tuned here for the confirmed 2024 Melbourne Cup jockeys. See what jockeys have locked in a ride aboard one of the 24 Melbourne Cup horses this spring.

CONFIRMED 2024 MELBOURNE CUP RIDES

• TBC

2024 Melbourne Cup Nominations

Early Melbourne Cup 2024 Nominations featuring a huge list of potential runners in the two mile classic close in late August or early September and will be detailed in full below as soon as released.

The official 2024 Melbourne Cup Nominations close on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 @ 12:00pm (Melbourne time).

The 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup nominations drew 123 horses including 103 locals led by Ciaron Maher’s Sydney Cup winner Circle Of Fire and 20 internationals including the Aidan O’Brien-trained Grosvenor Square. 

The Melbourne Cup nominations featured:

• 123 early entries
• 20 internationals
• 103 local stayers
• Defending champion Without A Fight (2023)
• 21 for Chris Waller

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

The 2024 Melbourne Cup weights (handicaps) are declared on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. 

Melbourne Cup Facts & Statistics

Below we have a look at some of the key Melbourne Cup facts and statistics ahead of the next edition of the ‘race that stops a nation’.

Weight:

• The three of the past eight Melbourne Cup winners all carried under 53kg to victory.
• The most successful weight with eight wins overall is 54.5kg.
• Makybe Diva (2005) is the only Melbourne Cup winner to carry 58kgs or more to victory in the past 35 years.
• Gold Trip (57.5kg in 2022) is the last Melbourne Cup top-weight to win.
• Verry Elleegant (2021) carried 57kg to victory; the first winner since Makybe Diva (58kg in 2005) to successfully carry more than 56.5kg.
• The latest Melbourne Cup weight carried to victory was 56.5kg by Without A Fight in 2023.

Name:

• Since 1924 only 10 Melbourne Cup winners had a first name beginning with a vowel (A = 4, E = 5 and 0 = 1).
• Since 1924 only four Melbourne Cup winners had a name starting with ‘A’ (Almandin, Americain, Arwon and At Talaq).
• The only Melbourne Cup winner in history to have a name starting with ‘O’ was Old Rowley (1940).
• The five Melbourne Cup winners since 1924 to have a name starting with ‘E’ are: Efficient, Ethereal, Empire Rose, Even Stevens and Evening Deal.

Favourites:

• Only 34 Melbourne Cup favourites have won throughout history for a strike rate of just under 21%.

Age:

• Four-year-olds have the best strike rate (46 wins) followed by five-year-olds (44 wins).

Saddlecloth:

• Saddlecloth numbers 4 has produced 12 Melbourne Cup winners following Verry Elleegant in 2021.
• No. 12 is the next best with 11 Melbourne Cup winners.
• The most successful Melbourne Cup saddlecloth number in the last 35 years with 6 wins in Number 6 – most recently carried to victory by Twilight Payment in 2020.

Colour:

• 12 of the past 17 Melbourne Cup winners were coloured bay most recently Twilight Payment (2020) and Gold Trip (2022).

Mares:

• There has only been 17 female Melbourne Cup winners with Makybe Diva (2003-2005) accounting for three and Verry Elleegant (2021) the latest.

2024 Melbourne Cup Horses: As The Field Takes Shape

Click here for our full Melbourne Cup Horses 2024 Profiles

The Melbourne Cup 2024 horses will be detailed on the dedicated Melbourne Cup Horses page accessible above as we draw closer to the great race.

Melbourne Cup Favourites

• From 2006 – 2023 just one favourite in Melbourne Cup betting saluted for the punters with Fiorente ($7 in 2013).
• Makybe Diva (2004-05) was the last back-to-back Melbourne Cup favourite to salute; she also won her first ‘Loving Trophy’ as an $8 chance in 2003.
• Before Makybe Diva the last time Melbourne Cup favourites won back-to-back was Might And Power (1997) and Jezabeel (1998).
• Since 2006 the worst result from a beaten Melbourne Cup favourite was the ill-fated Admire Rakti (22nd of 22 horses) in 2014.
• Since 2006 only three Melbourne Cup favourites have finished in the money: So You Think (3rd in 2010), Fiorente (1st in 2013) and Hartnell (3rd in 2016).
• The 2022 Melbourne Cup favourite, Deauville Legend, ran fourth.
• The 2023 Melbourne Cup favourite, Vauban, ran a disappointing 14th.

Melbourne Cup Bet Types

Win – The most basic type of bet. Put your money straight up on the runner that you think will win the Melbourne Cup.

Place – Pick the horse that you think will finish in the top three positions but at lower odds.

Each-Way – Put equal amounts on a horse for the win and a place, the equivalent of two bets and you get paid out for both if it wins.

Quinella – Bet on the horses you think will finish first and second in either order. You can also pick for example one horse to finish 1st and then a combination The fewer horses you pick the greater the dividend.

Exacta – An exacta also involves choosing horses that you think will finish first and second but it differs from a quinella in that it has to be the exact order you specify in the bet.

Trifecta – Very similar to an Exacta, but for the first, second and third placings in the correct finishing order. You can also Box Trifecta to finish in any of the first 3 combinations.

First Four – A First Four bet works the same as an Exacta and Trifecta but for the first four runners in finishing order.

Melbourne Cup Results

The Melbourne Cup results will be available at just after 3pm (AEDT) on the first Tuesday of November every year. The first three horses across the line draw the largest amount of interest from most punters, but due to the popularity of sweeps there is always interest in the final finishing position of all 24 runners.

Notable Past Melbourne Cup Results

1862: Archer became a back-to-back Melbourne Cup winner defending his title from the inaugural Melbourne Cup of 1861

1930: Phar Lap won the Melbourne Cup – the shortest priced favourite to salute at 8/11 ($1.70)

1941: Skipton saluted in the Melbourne Cup as a three-year-old

1990: Kingston Town set the current Melbourne Cup record time of 3:16.3

1993: Vintage Crop prepared in Ireland by Dermot Weld became the first Northern hemisphere-trained Melbourne Cup winner

2005: Makybe Diva became the first three-time Melbourne Cup winner

2011: Dunaden won in the closest Melbourne Cup result in history defeating fellow international Red Cadeaux

2017: Rekindling became the first international Melbourne Cup winner to salute first-up without a lead-up run in Australia since Vintage Crop (1993)

2019: Vow And Declare (Danny O’Brien) became the first Australian-bred Melbourne Cup winner since Shocking in 2009

2020: Twilight Payment (Joseph O’Brien) handed owner Lloyd Williams with his seventh success

2021: Verry Elleegant (Chris Waller) won the Melbourne Cup as a mare with 57kg from barrier 18 – the first in history from that gate – with a four length success

2022: Gold Trip (Ciaron Maher & David Eustace) became the latest top-weight in a Melbourne Cup field to salute carrying 57.5kg to victory

2023: Without A Fight (Anthony & Sam Freedman) became the 12th horse in history and first since 2001 to complete the Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double.

Past Melbourne Cup Winners

Recent Melbourne Cup winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.

FAQ

When is the Melbourne Cup 2024?

What is the prize money for the Melbourne Cup 2024?

$7,750,000 plus $810,000 in trophies.

Where is the Melbourne Cup 2024?

Flemington Racecourse, 448 Epsom Rd, Flemington VIC 3031.

Melbourne Cup Quick Facts

Makybe Diva has recorded a record 3 consecutive Melbourne Cup wins.

• The Melbourne Cup was first contested in 1861 and was won by the Etienne de Mestre-trained Archer, who successfully defended his crown the following year.
• Alongside Archer, only four other horses have won the Melbourne Cup more than once; Peter Pan (1932,34), Rain Lover (1968,69), Think Big (1974,75) and Makybe Diva (2003,04,05).
• The Melbourne Cup was originally contested over a distance of two miles (3219m) but was shortened to 3200m in 1972 when Australia adopted the metric system.
• Kingston Rule holds the record for the fastest time in Melbourne Cup; taking out the race’s 1990 edition in 3:16.30.
• The 2015 edition of the Melbourne Cup was won by the Darren Weir-trained Prince Of Penzance; a rank outsider having left at odds of $101 for success. The race also figured as the first time a female jockey was triumphant, in the form of Michelle Payne.

Melbourne Cup Trainer Profiles

Several trainers from around the world have enjoyed success in the Melbourne Cup throughout its rich history and their names have been etched into Australian race history and folklore as a result.

Bart Cummings is the most successful Melbourne Cup trainer.

Bart Cummings

Undoubtedly the name most synonymous with the Melbourne Cup is that of the late, great Bart Cummings, who secured a record and incredible 12 wins in the race over a long and illustrious career. Cummings saddled his first Cup winner through Light Fingers in 1964 and it fast became clear the trainer was on his way to stardom when defending his crown with Galilee and Red Handed in 1965 and 1966 respectively. Cummings’ record will likely never been eclipsed and he will always be the toast of the Race That Stops a Nation.

Lee Freedman

Prominent Australian trainer Lee Freedman has won the second-most amount of Melbourne Cups having so-far saddled five winners. The trainer’s first triumph came when Tawriffic won in 1989, but his biggest impact on the race undoubtedly came in preparing equine superstar Makybe Diva to two of her three-consecutive successes in 2004 and 2005. Freedman currently trains in partnership with brother Anthony and the pair prepared Our Ivanhowe in the 2015 edition of the race, who was unlucky to be hampered for a run in the final straight.

Dermot Weld

A number of international trainers have made their mark in Australia on the first Tuesday of November, but perhaps none more than two-time winner Dermot Weld. Weld claimed his first Melbourne Cup success via popular stayer Vintage Crop in 1993 but is most famous for preparing Media Puzzle in 2002; partnered by champion hoop Damien Oliver in the wake of his brother Jason’s sudden passing from a fall in track work.

Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival

Undoubtedly considered Australia’s major series, the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival as the name suggests runs through the season of spring each year, officially beginning in early August and concluding in the late stages of November.

The Melbourne Spring Carnival boasts black type racing each weekend and often through the week and is headlined by the Group 1 races that take place over four days during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

There are also what are known as the ‘Big 3’ Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival races or majors.

The Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) is the first of these contested over a mile-and-a-half (2400m) in mid-October. Won by some of the country’s best staying horses, the Caulfield Cup often figures as the final turning point for horses both local and international ahead of the Melbourne Cup.

The Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) is the country’s premier weight-for-age race and boasts an impressive $5 million purse. Contested just over a week prior to the Melbourne Cup, the Cox Plate has been won by everything from locals to internationals and even three-year-olds since the turn of the century. Winx is the most famous Cox Plate champion winning a record four straight editions of the WFA feature from 2015-18.

The ‘Big 3’ spring majors finish with the Melbourne Cup over the two miles run as Flemington Race 7 on the first Tuesday of November annually.