The highlight of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is the iconic Melbourne Cup race run on the first Tuesday of November. The 2023 Melbourne Cup winner was Without A Fight who did the Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double.
The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is Australia’s biggest and best racing festival, host to some of the world’s most iconic events including of course the Melbourne Cup. Racing takes place across the carnival at all of Victoria’s major racecourses including Flemington Racecourse, Caulfield Racecourse and Moonee Valley Racecourse.
The action gets underway in mid-August and goes through until November, giving punters four months of elite racing and betting action. Group 1 racing kicks off with Memsie Stakes Day in late August or early September at Caulfield and finishes-up in November when the coveted Melbourne Cup Carnival steals the show at Flemington.
The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is host to three majors with the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup among the most popular horse races in Australia. Of those the $8.4 million Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) is the most famous and runs over the two miles at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.
In 2022 Racing NSW launched The Big Dance (1600m) race that now runs at Royal Randwick on the same day as Victoria’s Melbourne Cup Day program and offers $3 million in prize money as of 2023.
Melbourne Cup Day is the second of four feature race meetings making up the Melbourne Cup Carnival along with Victoria Derby Day held the Saturday prior, VRC Oaks Day on the first Thursday of November, and Mackinnon Stakes Day – renamed VRC Champions Stakes Day in 2022 – on the first or second Saturday of November.
After the Melbourne Cup Carnival races are run and won, the wider-spread Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival continues for one final race day at Sandown Racecourse in mid-November.
Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival: Feature Races
2023 Caulfield Guineas
The Group 1 $3 million Caulfield Guineas (1600m) in mid-October is a major target for three-year-olds over the spring offering big prize money.
- Track: Caulfield
- Distance: 1600m
- Conditions: 3YOs – Set Weights
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $3 million
- First Prize: $1.8 million
- Sponsor: Neds
- First Run: 1881
- Reigning Champion: Griff (2023)
2023 Caulfield Cup
The first of the ‘Big 3’ spring majors the Group 1 $5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) is a genuine staying contest and forms the first leg of the Spring Cups double along with the iconic Melbourne Cup.
- Track: Caulfield
- Distance: 2400m
- Conditions: Open Handicap
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $5 million
- First Prize: $3 million
- Sponsor: Carlton Draught
- First Run: 1879
- Reigning Champion: Without A Fight (2023)
2023 Ladbrokes Cox Plate
The W.S. Cox Plate is known as the race where champions are made and is Australasia’s weight-for-age championship. Cox Plate winners come via lead-up runs in races like the Caulfield Stakes and Turnbull Stakes and many greats of the turf have taken out the race including superstar mare Winx who famously won four consecutive Cox Plates from 2015-18.
- Track: Moonee Valley
- Distance: 2040m
- Conditions: Weight-for-age
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $5 million
- First Prize: $3 million
- Sponsor: Ladbrokes
- First Run: 1922
- Reigning Champion: Romantic Warrior (2023)
2023 Victoria Derby
The Victoria Derby is the feature race for 3YOs of the spring run at Flemington Racecourse on the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day. The Moonee Valley Vase on Cox Plate Day is the key Victoria Derby form race. It is race dominated by upsets with plenty of value to be had betting against the favourite in Victoria Derby betting with only two favourites winning since 2006.
- Track: Flemington
- Distance: 2500m
- Conditions: 3YOs – Set Weights
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $2 million
- First Prize: $1.2 million
- Sponsor: Penfolds
- First Run: 1855
- Reigning Champion: Riff Rocket (2023)
2023 Melbourne Cup
The ‘race that stops a nation’ is the Group 1 $8.4 million Melbourne Cup contested over the two miles as Flemington Race 7 on the first Tuesday of November. A line-up of primarily European-bred stayers vie for the ‘Loving Trophy’ at around 3pm (local time). The iconic handicap features a capacity 24 starter field. Melbourne Cup betting is open all year round, but favourites have a poor record in the race with just one saluting since Makybe Diva (2005).
- Track: Flemington
- Distance: 3200m
- Conditions: Handicap
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $8.41 million
- First Prize: $4.4 million
- Sponsor: Lexus
- First Run: 1861
- Reigning Champion: Without A Fight (2023)
2023 VRC Oaks
The Group 1 $1 million VRC Oaks (2500m) is the highlight of ‘Ladies Day’ and takes place on the Thursday after the Melbourne Cup. It is the feature race for three-year-old fillies and is traditionally won by young staying types out of the Wakeful Stakes contested on Derby Day the Saturday prior. Upsets are common in the VRC Oaks including in 2016 when $101 shot Lasqueti Spirit led all-the-way.
- Track: Flemington
- Distance: 2500m
- Conditions: 3YO Fillies – Set Weights
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $1 million
- First Prize: $600,000
- Sponsor: Kennedy
- First Run: 1861
- Reigning Champion: Zardozi (2023)
2023 VRC Champions Sprint
The VRC Champions Sprint – formerly the VRC Sprint Classic – is the major spring race of the spring in Melbourne and takes place down the famous Flemington ‘Straight Six’ on VRC Champions Stakes Day – formerly known as Mackinnon Stakes Day on the Saturday after Melbourne Cup Day. The Manikato Stakes held at Moonee Valley the month before is the key VRC Sprint Classic form race to follow having produced three of the five winners from 2012-2016. Plenty of star sprinters have won the race including Black Caviar (2010-11), who was also the last favourite to salute until the success of Redzel (2017).
- Track: Flemington
- Distance: 1200m
- Conditions: Weight-for-age
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $3 million
- First Prize: $1.8 million
- Sponsor: TAB
- First Run: 1960
- Reigning Champion: Imperatriz (2023)
2023 VRC Champions Stakes
The VRC Champions Stakes – formerly the Mackinnon Stakes – runs on the second Saturday of November as the feature race of the final Melbourne Cup Carnival race day. The event now offers $3 million in prize money and is a weight-for-age feature intended to keep international gallopers that may have travelled down under for the Ladbrokes Cox Plate an incentive to stay on in Victoria. The event is contested over 2000m.
- Track: Flemington
- Distance: 2000m
- Conditions: Weight-for-age
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $3 million
- First Prize: $1.8 million
- Sponsor: TAB
- First Run: 1869
- Reigning Champion: Atishu (2023)
2023 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival Betting
Early Group 1 spring racing odds for the Melbourne feature races like the Melbourne Cup are open months in advance of the race. Futures betting on the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival 2023 can be accessed above on some of the key spring events by following the market links in our “Feature Races” section above.
Betting on the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival gives race fans the chance to get behind not only Australia’s but the world’s best horses as international raiders make the trip down under chasing the lucrative prize money on offer. There’s also plenty of money for punters to make betting on classics like the Caulfield Cup and Ladbrokes Cox Plate run on successive Saturdays at the end of October.
Often checking out the earlier Sydney Spring Racing Carnival events as a guide to spring betting in Melbourne at the end of the year is a good idea with plenty of horses racing in both NSW and further south during the season.
Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival betting also features a host of excellent Group 1 doubles like the coveted ‘Spring Cup’ double of the Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup.
Major Race Days
See below for the full details of the key Race Days contested in Victoria over the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival 2023.
PB Lawrence Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday August 19, 2023
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
PB Lawrence Stakes Day runs on a Saturday in mid-August and officially starts the Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival. An early run for staying types, the day’s headline race is the weight-for-age P.B. Lawrence Stakes won by star types including Whobegotyou (2011) and Apache Cat (2007). Early Guineas lead-ups begin for the three-year-olds on the day too with the Vain Stakes (colts and geldings) and Quezette Stakes (fillies).
Memsie Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday September 2, 2023
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
The first of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival Group 1 races is held at Caulfield in late August, the Memsie Stakes run at WFA and won by stars including So You Think (2010) and Weekend Hussler (2008). Three Group 3 races support the Memsie Stakes Day card including the three-year-old sprinters facing off in the McNeil Stakes.
John F. Feehan Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday September 9, 2023
Racecourse: Moonee Valley
Feature Races:
Moonee Valley Racecourse hosts its first key spring race meeting with the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes – now known as the John F. Feehan Stakes and worth half-a-million in stakes. Held in late August or early September the weight-for-age clash attracts the season’s Cox Plate types. The McEwen Stakes is the other feature on the card for sprinters and is also contested under WFA conditions.
Makybe Diva Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday September 16, 2023
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
Group 1 racing in Melbourne continues with Flemington Racecourse hosting the Makybe Diva Stakes for the milers, a race named in honour of three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva. Two Group 2 races also take place on the day including the Bobbie Lewis Quality for potential Sydney-bound The Everest hopefuls.
Underwood Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday September 23, 2023
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
Underwood Stakes Day returns to Caulfield Racecourse in 2023 with a field of spring stayers facing off in the Underwood Stakes over 1800m. Many Underwood Stakes graduates continue their way to a Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) bid later in the carnival. The other Group races on the card are the Caulfield Guineas Prelude and Naturalism Stakes. The Naturalism Stakes is a lead-up to the Caulfield Cup and is always worth turning in for. The Naturalism Stakes winner is exempt from Caulfield Cup ballot and in 2016 Jameka did the double.
Moir Stakes Night 2023
Date: Friday September 29, 2023
Racecourse: Moonee Valley
Feature Races:
Held under the lights at Moonee Valley Moir Stakes Night is headlined by the sprint stars facing off in the Moir Stakes over 1000m, which is a key lead-up to the VRC Champions Stakes during the Melbourne Cup Carnival. Also on the early October Friday evening race card are the Stutt Stakes for three-year-old miler/stayers and the mares facing off in the Stocks Stakes.
Sandown Stakes Day 2023
Date: Sunday October 1, 2023
Racecourse: Ladbrokes Park Hillside (Sandown)
Feature Races:
With the Underwood Stakes moved back to a Saturday time-slot at Caulfield the Group 3 Sandown Stakes is now its own feature on a Sunday in early October at Ladbrokes Park Hillside.
Turnbull Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday October 7, 2023
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
Flemington is host to the next Group 1 with the Turnbull Stakes heading this October card. The set weights plus penalties clash has been won by plenty of nice stayers including Efficient (2009) who won the 2007 Melbourne Cup, superstar Zipping (2010), and Green Moon (2012) who went on to win that year’s edition of the ‘race that stops a nation’. The other most lucrative event on the program is the Group 3 The Bart Cummings which is another key lead-up into the Melbourne Cup for stayers further down the ballot for the world’s richest handicap.
Caulfield Guineas Day 2023
Date: Saturday October 14, 2023
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
Caulfield Guineas Day boasts a bumper line-up including three Group 1 races. The three-year-old colts and geldings face off in the Caulfield Guineas field for $3 million in prize money. The Caulfield Stakes – currently known as the Neds Might And Power Stakes – over 2000m attracts Cox Plate hopes and has been won by the likes of So You Think (2010), Atlantic Jewel (2013), Criterion (2015) and super mare Winx (2016) in recent years. The Toorak Handicap, a popular mile event, is the other Group 1 on the card.
Coongy Cup Day 2023
Date: Wednesday October 18, 2022
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
Midweek racing takes place on a Wednesday in mid-October at Caulfield with the Group 3 Coongy Cup now the feature event on the card for Caulfield Cup hopefuls chasing an eleventh hour start in the mile and a half classic.
Caulfield Cup Day 2023
Date: Saturday October 21, 2023
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
The first of the three Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival majors runs on a Saturday in late October, $5 million in prize money on offer in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m). The season’s best stayers take to the Caulfield track in the mile and a half classic won in recent years by Dunaden (2012), Mongolian Khan (2015), and Chris Waller’s outstanding mare Verry Elleegant (2020). One of the day’s key support races is the Caulfield Classic for three-year-olds, formerly called the Norman Robinson Stakes, heading towards the VRC Derby. In 2023 the Thousand Guineas Prelude for Group 1 Thousand Guineas-bound fillies joins the Caulfield Cup Day program.
Geelong Cup Day 2023
Date: Wednesday October 25, 2023
Racecourse: Geelong
Feature Races:
- Group 3 $500,000 Geelong Cup (2400m)
- Listed $200,000 Geelong Classic (2200m)
The first big Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival meeting held outside of the major city tracks is Geelong Cup Day where a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption is on offer to the winner of the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m). The form out of the Geelong Cup has stacked up in the Melbourne Cup results a number of times in recent years including the double being completed by French raiders Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011).
Moonee Valley Gold Cup Night 2023
Date: Friday October 27, 2023
Racecourse: Moonee Valley
Feature Races:
In a change to the 2023 Melbourne Spring Carnival line-up the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup, for potential Melbourne Cup horses, runs on its own feature Friday Night race meeting at The Valley offering $750,000 in stakes. The Group 3 JRA Cup fis the key support act at the twilight meet that runs on Cox Plate Eve.
Ladbrokes Cox Plate Day 2023
Date: Saturday October 28, 2023
Racecourse: Moonee Valley
Feature Races:
The second Group 1 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival major runs on a Saturday in late October, Australasia’s weight-for-age championship the $5 million Group 1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) won by the likes of Makybe Diva (2005), So You Think (2009-10), and historic four-time champion Winx (2015-18) in recent years. In 2023 the Group 1 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes sprint showdown joins the Cox Plate day card and offers $2 million in prize money. Key support acts include the Moonee Valley Fillies Classic attracting Empire Rose Stakes-bound fillies and the Moonee Valley Vase.
Bendigo Cup Day 2023
Date: Wednesday November 1, 2023
Racecourse: Bendigo
Feature Race:
Melbourne Cup Carnival
Victoria Derby Day 2023
Date: Saturday November 4, 2023
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
The iconic four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off on the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day with Victoria Derby Day host to three Group 1 races including the $2 million Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) for the season’s best three-year-old stayers. A ballot exemption for the Melbourne Cup a few days later is on offer in the Group 3 Lexus Archer Stakes on Derby Day. The three-year-old sprinters get a chance to shine in the Coolmore Stud Stakes, while the fillies and mares do battle in the Empire Rose Stakes (formerly the Myer Classic) over the mile.
Melbourne Cup Day 2023
Date: Tuesday November 7, 2023
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
Hands-down the biggest race day in Australia every year, Melbourne Cup Day punters spend more money predicting the winner of the ‘race that stops a nation’ than the rest of the carnival Group 1 races combined! The $8.41 million Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) runs over the two miles, is the richest race of its kind in the world and attracts the best local and international stayers. Favourites however have a poor record in the capacity 24-starter field and upsets are not uncommon, including in 2015 when 100/1 shot Prince Of Penzance got the job done for roughie backers.
VRC Oaks Day 2023
Date: Thursday November 9, 2023
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
Held on the first Thursday in November, VRC Oaks Day is also known as ‘Ladies Day’ and runs two days after the classic Melbourne Cup. The three-year-old fillies proven over a decent distance face off in the VRC Oaks (2500m), which is the female equivalent of the VRC Derby.
VRC Champions Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday November 11, 2023
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
The fourth and final Melbourne Cup Carnival race day runs on the first Saturday in November annually and is headlined by the Group 1 VRC Champions Stakes (2000m) – a $3 million showdown also known as the Mackinnon Stakes – for the Cox Plate graduates and the Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) – formerly the VRC Sprint Classic – for the season’s star sprinters.
In 2022 the Kennedy Cantala Stakes was renamed as the Champions Mile and moved from Derby Day to Champions Stakes Day.
There’s also a consolation race for Melbourne Cup types that missed a run in the two mile classic a few days earlier in the form of the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m), currently run as the Queen’s Cup.
Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes Day 2023
Date: Saturday November 18, 2023
Racecourse: Caulfield Racecourse
Feature Races:
Group 1 racing 2023 spring carnival in Victoria continues right through until late November with the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes and the Thousand Guineas, now worth $1.5 million, co-featuring on their own end of festival meeting.
The Group 3 Blue Sapphire Stakes on the card now offers $500,000 in stakes, while the Group 3 Thoroughbred Club Stakes and How Now Stakes serve as the other key support acts on the program.
Zipping Classic Day 2023
Date: Saturday December 2, 2023
Racecourse: Caulfield Racecourse
Feature Races:
Following the highs of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the wider Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is host to one last race meeting in early December. Zipping Classic Day takes place at Caulfield Racecourse in 2023, and the day’s support race is the Zipping Classic (formerly the Sandown Classic) in honour of four-time winner Zipping (2007-10). The Sandown Guineas is the other Group 2 on the card and attracts some nice three-year-olds.