2021 Melbourne Cup First Acceptances
The official Melbourne Cup 2021 first acceptances close on Tuesday September 7, 2021.
The 2021 Melbourne Cup first acceptances attracted 124 early entries led in pre-field betting by the Peter Moody-
2021 Melbourne Cup Second Acceptances
The Lexus Melbourne Cup 2021 second acceptances were taken on Tuesday September 28, 2021.
2021 Melbourne Cup Third Acceptances
The Lexus Melbourne Cup 2021 third acceptances were taken on Tuesday October 12, 2021 with 60 stayers still in the mix including three international raiders led by the reigning champion Twilight Payment for Joseph O’Brien.
2021 Melbourne Cup Fourth Acceptances
The Melbourne Cup 2021 Fourth Acceptances are taken the Monday leading-up to Victoria Derby Day, eight days prior to the ‘race that stops a nation’.
The 2021 Melbourne Cup fourth acceptors have been confirmed with 35 stayers left chasing a spot in the capacity 24-horse Melbourne Cup field with all-in markets dominated by Peter Moody’s star Caulfield Cup champion Incentivise.
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 six 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
- Verry Elleegant (2021) carried 57kg to victory; the first winner since Makybe Diva (58kg in 2005) to successfully carry more than 56.5kg
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:
- 11 of the past 15 Melbourne Cup winners were coloured bay most recently Twilight Payment (2020)
Mares:
- There has only been 17 female Melbourne Cup winners with Makybe Diva (2003-2005) accounting for three and Verry Elleegant (2021) the latest
2021 Melbourne Cup Horses: As The Field Takes Shape
The Melbourne Cup 2021 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 – 2021 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)
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 – 2021 all but one of the Melbourne Cup winners finished first four in their lead-up run including four coming off a victory.
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) are the latest Melbourne Cup winners to back-up off a Cox Plate run both having finished 3rd at The Valley, while Vow And Declare (2nd) was the last Melbourne Cup winner out of the Caulfield Cup.
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.
2021 Melbourne Cup Tips
Our expert team of tipsters will provide the 2021 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.
The Favourite: #2 Incentivise ($2.90 at time of publish)
There’s now a touch of “value” for Incentivise out to nearly $3 and it is impossible not to stick with the deserving short-priced favourite in one of the weaker editions of the ‘race that stops a nation’. He’s been heroic coming from an unplaced maiden loss at Toowoomba in March to win nine straight including a 3.5 length romp home from barrier 18 of 18 in the Caulfield Cup. Cannot see any issues with Peter Moody’s Queensland expat getting the two-miles and is drawn similar in barrier 16. Brett Prebble is going as well as the horse and retains the ride. Only a freak storm forcing a mud track or bad luck will see this next great champion beaten.
The Danger: #1 Twilight Payment ($13 at time of publish)
There are officially only two international horses in the Melbourne Cup field (not counting the Waterhouse/Bott import Sir Lucan) including Joe Pride’s defending champion. Makybe Diva (2003-05) was the last stayer to win more than one, but this guy could be potential value to break the hoodoo of returning champs. He lead all-the-way – yep from barrier to box over two miles at HQ! – last year at a price and it takes a special horse to do that. His lead-up form from back home is equally as strong and Joe O’Brien is in fine form himself off the Cox Plate win. O’Brien is after his third, Lloyd Williams his eighth and even with top-weight (58kg) there are a few things suggesting this horse could do it.
The Each Way Value: #21 Tralee Rose ($15 at time of publish)
This mare was oh so brave winning the Geelong Cup last time out and gets in here at a decent price with a decent chance to surprise a few. Fourth in the Group 2 Adelaide Cup her only other go at the two-miles and with 51kg after carry 55.5kg last time out, she’ll run the 3200m no worries. Good gate, building with each run this prep and lovely strike-rate at Flemington (4:2-2-0). Lots to like about this well-bred daughter of Tavistock.
The Best Roughie: #12 Persan ($26 at time of publish)
After getting out to 30/1 Persan is back into 25/1 for the Cup but still looks one of the forgotten chances in the field. Without Incentivise there, this is one of the most open editions of the classic in recent memory and this galloper profiles well. Pierro five-year-old right age to win and lead-up Caulfield Cup third was eye-catching. Good fifth in the race last year and history is against him as a returning runner, but he is going just as well and can likely finish in the money perhaps in a race where more than a few are suspect class and distance wise.
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 has completed the Caulfield Cup/Melbourne Cup double since Ethereal in 2001.
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 – 2021 six internationally-trained raiders saluted in the Melbourne Cup most recently Twilight Payment (2021)
- 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 six winning between 2010 – 2021 most recently Verry Elleegant (2021)
2021 Melbourne Cup Form Guide
A link to the official Melbourne Cup 2021 Form Guide will be provided below as soon as the final Melbourne Cup field is announced on the Saturday before the race.
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.
Prince of Penzance winning the 2015 Melbourne Cup. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos
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
Melbourne Cup Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Race Time |
| 2021 |
Verry Elleegant |
James McDonald |
Chris Waller |
3:17.43 |
| 2020 |
Twilight Payment |
Jye McNeil |
Joseph O’Brien |
3:17.34 |
| 2019 |
Vow And Declare |
Craig Williams |
Danny O’Brien |
3:24.76 |
| 2018 |
Cross Counter |
Kerrin McEvoy |
Charlie Appleby |
3:21.17 |
| 2017 |
Rekindling |
Corey Brown |
Joseph O’Brien |
3:21.19 |
| 2016 |
Almandin |
Kerrin McEvoy |
Robert Hickmott |
3:20.58 |
| 2015 |
Prince of Penzance |
Michelle Payne |
Darren Weir |
3.23.15 |
| 2014 |
Protectionist |
Ryan Moore |
Andreas Wohler |
3.17.71 |
| 2013 |
Fiorente |
Damien Oliver |
Gai Waterhouse |
3.20.84 |
| 2012 |
Green Moon |
Brett Prebble |
Robert Hickmott |
3.20.45 |
| 2011 |
Dunaden |
Christophe Lemaire |
Mikel Delzangles |
3.20.84 |
| 2010 |
Americain |
Gérald Mossé |
Alain de Royer Dupre |
3.26.87 |
| 2009 |
Shocking |
Corey Brown |
Mark Kavanagh |
3.23.87 |
| 2008 |
Viewed |
Blake Shinn |
Bart Cummings |
3.20.40 |
| 2007 |
Efficient |
Michael Rodd |
Graeme Rogerson |
3.23.34 |
| 2006 |
Delta Blues |
Yasunari Iwata |
Katsuhiko Sumii |
3.21.47 |
| 2005 |
Makybe Diva |
Glen Boss |
Lee Freedman |
3.19.17 |
| 2004 |
Makybe Diva |
Glen Boss |
Lee Freedman |
3.28.55 |
| 2003 |
Makybe Diva |
Glen Boss |
David Hall |
3.19.90 |
| 2002 |
Media Puzzle |
Damien Oliver |
Dermot K. Weld |
3.16.97 |
| 2001 |
Ethereal |
Scott Seamer |
Sheila Laxon |
3.21.08 |
| 2000 |
Brew |
Kerrin McEvoy |
Mike Moroney |
3.18.68 |
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 premiere 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.