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 primarily 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 at Caulfield and finishes-up in the first week of November when the coveted Melbourne Cup Carnival steals the show at Flemington.
The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is host to three majors: the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup. Of those the $8 million Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) is the most famous, running over the two miles at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.
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 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: Key Races
2021 Caulfield Guineas
The Group 1 $2 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: $2 million
- First Prize: $1.2 million
- Sponsor: Neds
- First Run: 1881
- Reigning Champion: Ole Kirk (2020)
2021 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: Stella Artois
- First Run: 1879
- Reigning Champion: Verry Elleegant (2020)
2021 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: Sir Dragonet (2020)
2021 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: Johnny Get Angry (2020)
2021 Melbourne Cup
The ‘race that stops a nation’ is the Group 1 $8 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: $7.75 million
- First Prize: $4.4 million
- Sponsor: Lexus
- First Run: 1861
- Reigning Champion: Twilight Payment (2020)
2021 VRC Oaks
The Group 1 $1 million VRC Oaks (2500m) – now known as the Kennedy Oaks – 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
- First Run: 1861
- Reigning Champion: Personal (2020)
2021 VRC Sprint Classic
The VRC Sprint Classic is the major spring race of the spring in Melbourne and takes place down the famous Flemington ‘Straight Six’ on 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: $2 million
- First Prize: $1.2 million
- Sponsor: TBC
- First Run: 1960
- Reigning Champion: Bivouac (2020)
2021 Mackinnon Stakes
The new-look 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 $2 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: $2 million
- First Prize: $1.2 million
- Sponsor: Seppelt
- First Run: 1869
- Reigning Champion: Arcadia Queen (2020)
2021 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 2021 can be accessed above on some of the key spring events by following the market links in our “Key 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 2021.
PB Lawrence Stakes Day 2021
Date: Saturday August 14, 2021
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 2021
Date: Saturday August 28, 2021
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 2021
Date: Saturday September 4, 2021
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 / early September, the weight-for-age clash attracting the season’s Cox Plate types. The McEwen Stakes is the other feature on the card for sprinters, also contested under WFA conditions.
Makybe Diva Stakes Day 2021
Date: Saturday September 11, 2021
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.
Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes Day 2021
Date: Saturday September 18, 2021
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes Day features the Group 1 1400m event that was previously run on Underwood Stakes Day. It is now the headline event on the new-look race card that also features the Naturalism Stakes – a lead-up to the Caulfield Cup and that is always worth turning in for. The Naturalism Stakes winner is exempt from Caulfield Cup ballot and in 2016 Jameka did the double. In 2021, the meeting also features the official Caulfield Guineas and Thousand Guineas Prelude races.
Moir Stakes Night 2021
Date: Friday September 24, 2021
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 Darley Classic during the Melbourne Cup Carnival. Also on the early October Friday evening race card are the Bill Stutt Stakes for three-year-old miler – stayers, the mares facing off in the Stocks Stakes and Caulfield Cup types running in the JRA Cup.
Underwood Stakes Day 2021
Date: Sunday September 26, 2021
Racecourse: Ladbrokes Park Hillside (Sandown)
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $750,000 Underwood Stakes (1800m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Sandown Stakes (1500m)
Previously run at Caulfield, for 2021 elite level racing in the form of Underwood Stakes Day heads to Sandown’s Ladbrokes Park Hillside and runs on the Sunday of the AFL Grand Final weekend. The meeting formerly featured two Group 1 features but the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes now runs earlier in the spring. The stayers run in the Underwood Stakes over 1800m with nice types on way to a Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) bid later in the carnival. The Group 3 Sandown Stakes is the other Group status feature on this season’s program.
Turnbull Stakes Day 2021
Date: Saturday October 2, 2021
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 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, another key lead-up into the Melbourne Cup for stayers further down the ballot for the world’s richest handicap.
Caulfield Guineas Day 2021
Date: Saturday October 9, 2021
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 $2 million in prize money. The Caulfield 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 is the other Group 1 on the card, the mile feature making up a popular betting double with the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes held earlier in the spring. The meeting previously also hosted the Thousand Guineas for the three-year-old fillies, but in 2021 that mile feature will take place the following Wednesday on its own feature race card.
Thousand Guineas Day 2021
Date: Wednesday October 13, 2021
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $1 million Thousand Guineas (1600m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Blue Sapphire Stakes (1200m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Coongy Cup (2000m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Ladies’ Day Vase (1600m)
Midweek racing for the spring takes place with Thousand Guineas Day on a Wednesday in 2021. The million-dollar Group 1 Thousand Guineas for the three-year-old fillies run over the mile headlines the program that also features a trio of Group 3 support races.
Caulfield Cup Day 2021
Date: Saturday October 16, 2021
Racecourse: Caulfield
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Caulfield Sprint (1000m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Tristarc Stakes (1400m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Caulfield Classic (2000m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Ethereal Stakes (2000m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Moonga Stakes (1400m)
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 (run as the Neds Classic in 2021) for three-year-olds, formerly called the Norman Robinson Stakes, heading towards the VRC Derby.
Geelong Cup Day 2021
Date: Wednesday October 20, 2021
Racecourse: Geelong
Feature Races:
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).
Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes Night 2021
Date: Friday October 22, 2021
Racecourse: Moonee Valley
Feature Races:
Held on the Friday night before Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley in late October, Manikato Stakes Night features a 1200m Group 1 sprint won by some genuine stars including Hay List (2010), Sepoy (2011), Buffering (2013) and Chautauqua (2015). The Manikato Stakes is also a nice lead-up into the VRC Sprint Classic at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the double recently achieved by Buffering (2013).
Ladbrokes Cox Plate Day 2021
Date: Saturday October 23, 2021
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. Key support acts on the card include the Moonee Valley Gold Cup for Melbourne Cup hopes and the Moonee Valley Fillies Classic attracting Myer Classic-bound fillies.
Melbourne Cup Carnival
Victoria Derby Day 2021
Date: Saturday October 30, 2021
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 four Group 1 races including the $2 million Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) for the season’s best three-year-old stayers. The Kennedy Cantala Stakes often attracts staying stars out of the Cox Plate that could back-up just a few days later in the Melbourne Cup, a ballot exemption for which is also on offer in the Group 3 Lexus Hotham 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 2021
Date: Tuesday November 2, 2021
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $7.75 million Melbourne Cup (3200m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Hong Jong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Ottawa Stakes (1000m)
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 $7.75 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.
Kennedy Oaks Day 2021
Date: Thursday November 4, 2021
Racecourse: Flemington
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $1 million VRC Kennedy Oaks (2500m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Darley Maribyrnong Plate (1000m)
- Group 3 $300,000 Red Roses Stakes (1100m)
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.
Mackinnon Stakes Day 2021
Date: Saturday November 6, 2021
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 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) for the Cox Plate graduates and the Group 1 Darley Classic (1200m) for the season’s star sprinters. 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).
Zipping Classic Day 2021
Date: Saturday November 13, 2021
Racecourse: Ladbrokes Park Hillside (Sandown)
Feature Race:
- Group 2 $300,000 Zipping Classic (2400m)
- Group 2 $250,000 Ladbrokes Sandown Guineas (1600m)
- Group 3 $160,000 Kevin Heffernan Stakes (1300m)
- Group 3 $160,000 Eclipse Stakes (1800m)
- Group 3 $160,000 Summoned Stakes (1500m)
- Listed $150,000 Sandown Cup (3200m)
Following the highs of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the wider Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is host to one last race meeting at Sandown Racecourse in mid-November. Formerly the Sandown Classic, the day’s support race is now known as the Zipping Classic in honour of four-time winner Zipping (2007-10). The Sandown Guineas also attracts some nice three-year-olds, while the just-below-top-grade stayers run over the two miles in the Listed Sandown Cup (3200m).