Ladbrokes Geelong Cup 2026 Betting Odds & Race Preview

This year the Ladbrokes Geelong Cup runs on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 as a lead-up into the Melbourne Cup field 2026 with the winner exempt from ballot in the ‘race that stops a nation’. 

The Ladbrokes Geelong Cup 2026 is a race that commands the attention of serious punters every spring, with the renowned staying feature often shaping the Melbourne Cup landscape. Run over 2400m at Geelong Racecourse, the Group 3 handicap regularly attracts a strong mix of proven stayers, emerging Cup contenders, and international hopefuls looking to enhance their credentials ahead of Australia’s biggest races. The promise of valuable black-type success and a coveted ballot exemption into the Melbourne Cup ensures the Geelong Cup draws a quality field and generates significant betting interest each year. Stay across the latest Geelong Cup odds 2026, market movers, runner updates, and expert Geelong Cup betting 2026 predictions at Ladbrokes as the spring’s leading stayers chase a vital victory on the road to Flemington.

2026 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Odds

The season’s updated Geelong Cup 2026 odds and links to our markets on the key Melbourne Cup form race will be detailed below over the spring so stay tuned for the best Geelong Cup betting offers followed by the official finishing order after the event.

Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Tips

Geelong Cup tips are usually dominated by proven staying types that are heading into the Melbourne Cup over 3200m. Classy city horses with form over 2400m or further or that ran solidly in the Caulfield Cup the previous week are a good tip, as are those not weighted too heavily in the handicap showdown.

Any strong international horses contesting the race also make a good Geelong Cup betting tip with the raiders boasting a dominant recent record in the event, as do graduates out of the Herbert Power Stakes roughly a fortnight prior.

Ladbrokes Tip: The Geelong Cup form often stacks up in the Melbourne Cup field

2026 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Predictions & Best Bets

Our Ladbrokes’ insider Geelong Cup 2026 betting tips and exotic selections will be detailed in full below the week of the race so bookmark this page for the stayers to back and sack in the important spring event.

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Geelong Cup Winners List: History & Results

13 Oct • Darren Cole

The Geelong Cup is a Group 3 handicap race held over 2400 metres at Geelong Racecourse during the Spring Racing Carnival. In 2025, the $500,000 feature was claimed by Torranzino, trained by Paul Preusker and ridden to victory by Celine Gaudray carrying 56.0kg. Recent Geelong Cup Winners 2025 – Torranzino: Paul Preusker’s six-year-old gelding scored a brave victory from barrier 2 under Celine Gaudray at $10 odds to book his place in the Melbourne Cup. 2024 – Onesmoothoperator: The Brian Ellison-trained British stayer produced a dominant performance, bolting away under Craig Williams at $11 odds. 2023 – Amade: Phillip Stokes’…

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The Ladbrokes Geelong Cup is a Group 3 feature for stayers held on a Wednesday in late October days before the premier 2040m Cox Plate during the annual Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

The Geelong Cup field features stayers possibly coming out of the quick five-day back-up out of the Caulfield Cup and heading towards November’s iconic $10.2 million Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) run over the two miles at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.

The Ladbrokes Geelong Cup winner is officially ballot exempt for the Melbourne Cup!

Run at Geelong Racecourse over 2400m the open handicap offers prize money of $500,000 and runs the Wednesday after Caulfield Cup Day, around a fortnight before Melbourne Cup Day, and has done so since 1947. First held back in 1872 when Flying Scud saluted, the Geelong Cup has been run over a host of different distances including originally over the same two miles (3200m) as the Melbourne Cup.

It has held Group 3 status since 2002 and notable Geelong Cup winners in recent years include Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) who all went on to win the ‘race that stops a nation’ saluting in that year’s Melbourne Cup.

More recently the 2019 Geelong Cup winner Prince Of Arran backed-up to run second to Vow And Declare in that year’s Melbourne Cup results, a feat repeated in 2022 by Geelong Cup winner Emissary who ran a next-up second to Gold Trip in the Melbourne Cup quinella.

Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Race Info

• Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
• Track: Geelong Racecourse (Ladbrokes Geelong)
• Distance: 2400m
• Conditions: Handicap
• Status: Group 3
• Prize Money: $500,000
• First Run: 1872

2026 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Results

The official Ladbrokes Geelong Cup 2026 Results & Finishing Order will be published below once the race takes place on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Betting

Geelong Cup betting is traditionally led by stayers with form over the distance who are heading into the Melbourne Cup. Internationals have featured prominently in the Geelong Cup odds since the success of French visitors Americain and Dunaden in successive years.

Before the 2019 victory by Prince Of Arran in an all-international Geelong Cup trifecta, Qewy had been the last raider to salute in the Geelong Cup in 2016 and was the second elect to salute, while in 2017 the Michael Moroney-trained import Vengeur Masque broke his maiden status down under winning at Geelong Cup odds of $15 ahead of the short-priced favourite. The following year in 2018 Runaway saluted at similar Geelong Cup odds of $16.

Trainer Michael Moroney won his second Geelong Cup in 2022 with another import, Emissary, who scored an upset at $18.

There was also a boil-over in the 2023 Geelong Cup results with veteran 10-year-old Amade saluting narrowly up the middle at $31.

In 2024 Onesmoothoperator became the latest internationally trained Geelong Cup winner dominating the race at $11 odds in his first Australian start. 

Favourites though do have a good record in the Geelong Cup so check the form on the horses at the top of the markets. Prince Of Arran ($4.20 in 2019) followed by Steel Prince ($3.50 in 2020) and Tralee Rose ($2.60 in 2021) are the latest favourites in Geelong Cup betting to salute.

Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Field

The Geelong Cup race field is released two days before the race runs on Geelong Cup Day that Wednesday, which is a public holiday in Geelong, with nominations closing the previous week.

A host of the season’s premier stayers, both local hopes and interstate raiders, feature in the final Geelong Cup acceptances for the mile and a half handicap that has produced three Melbourne Cup winners since 2002 including the two French-trained winners of the world’s richest handicap.

Plenty of horses in the Geelong Cup field also come out of the previous Saturday’s Caulfield Cup field, while the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) over the same track / distance as the Group 1 Caulfield Cup a week earlier is another good lead-up into the Geelong Cup race.

Emissary (8th in 2022) was the last Herbert Power Stakes graduate to take out the Geelong Cup.

In 2025 the Ladbrokes Geelong Cup winner Torranzino improved on a lead-up second in the Group 3 The Bart Cummings race at Flemington.

2026 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Field

The official Geelong Cup 2026 Final Field & Barriers will be announced on the Monday of race week and detailed in full below so stay tuned to see what spring stayers make the starting line-up on way to the Melbourne Cup.

2026 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Nominations

The early Ladbrokes Geelong Cup 2026 Nominations are released the Thursday prior to the race and will be listed below.

The 2026 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup nominations attracted a bumper 31 potential Melbourne Cup-bound stayers led in all-in betting by Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott’s smart import The Euphrates coming off a Group 1 The Metropolitan third in Sydney and Ciaron Maher’s lightly-raced European expat Point Of Law who is unraced down under.

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Geelong Cup Form Guide

The Geelong Cup form guide has all the basic information like the trainers and jockeys of all the runners plus extra details like the lead-up runs, weight and barriers for each starter. Looking for a well-weighted runner that comes out of the Caulfield Cup on the Geelong Cup form guide is important, as is seeking out the in-form international visitors heading towards the Melbourne Cup.

The Geelong Cup form has stacked up plenty of times on the first Tuesday of November in the Melbourne Cup results, so watching the form out of the Group 3 as an early guide to Melbourne Cup betting is crucial for savvy spring punters.

The 2023 Geelong Cup form was franked by the second placed Ashrun who finished fourth to Without A Fight next-up in the Melbourne Cup. He also returned for a third in the 2024 Group 1 Tancred Stakes in Sydney the following autumn.

2026 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Geelong Cup 2026 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Past Geelong Cup Results

The Geelong Cup race results show the winner and exact finishing order of all the runners plus the winning time and margin and starting price of all the horses. It can also reveal the value in the upcoming Melbourne Cup betting markets heading into November’s famous Flemington showdown.

Notable recent Geelong Cup winners include Bauer (2008); French raiders Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) who both did the Geelong Cup – Melbourne Cup double; and Qewy (2016) who ran fourth in the Melbourne Cup next race before winning the Sandown Cup as the odds-on favourite over the two miles.

Tralee Rose (2021) was the last Geelong Cup winning mare.

Pacific Dancer holds the current 2400m Geelong Cup race record winning in 2004 in a time of 2 minutes 26:51 seconds.

Recent Geelong Cup Winners

Recent Geelong Cup winners and placegetters dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.