Australian Cup: Date, how to watch, past winners & more

The Australian Cup is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race that takes place at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, in March of each year.

Raced over a distance of 2000m under weight for age conditions, the Australian Cup is for horses aged three years old and above.

With a total prize fund totalling $3million, the Australian Cup is one of the highlights of the VRC Autumn Racing Carnival and always attracts a quality field.

Here is everything you need to know about the Australian Cup.

Australian Cup date

The Australian Cup is part of the Victorian Racing Club Autumn Carnival and is held towards at the end of March each year.

The 2025 edition of the race will take place on Saturday 29th March.

Australian Cup time

The start time for the Australian Cup has yet to be announced, but in 2024 it was Race 8 on a bumper card and is likely to remain in that slot.

Australian Cup venue

The Australian Cup is held at the iconic Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria.

The exception was in 2007 when the Australian Cup was hosted by Caulfield Racecourse due to refurbishment work at Flemington.

Australian Cup how to watch

The Australian Cup will be shown free-to-air in Australia on Channel 7 and is also available via the 7plus App.

Australian Cup prize money

The total amount of prize money for the Australian Cup stands at a cool $3million, which is spread over the top eight horses.

The exact split of the prize pot has yet to be announced.

Australian Cup history

The Australian Cup is one of the oldest horses races in Australia and was first raced way back in 1863.

Back then it was a Principal Race and remained that way until 1979, when it was awarded Group 1 status.

Conditions have switched between Handicap and Weight for Age, however, it has remained Weight for Age from 1987 onwards.

Australian Cup previous winners

Cascadian won the 2024 edition of the Australian Cup for trainer James Cummings and jockey Ben Melham.

There have been some famous winners of the Australian Cup, including Makybe Diva, who won the race in 2005.

The most recent back-to-back successes saw Harlem triumph in both 2018 and 2019.

Australian Cup odds

Pride Of Jenni, who finished second in the 2024 edition of the race, is the 2.75 hot fancy to go one better in 2025.

Middle Earth comes next in the betting at 5.00, while Atishu and Light Infantry Man are both 6.50 shots and Zardozi is priced at 8.00.

Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.