Melbourne Cup: Date, how to watch, past winners, latest odds and more

The Melbourne Cup is a Group 1 thoroughbred contest and is by far the most famous race on the Australian racing calendar.

Raced over 3200m at the iconic Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, the Melbourne Cup is known as the ‘race that stops a nation’.

The Melbourne Cup is the richest two-mile handicap in the world, with $8million in prize money up for grabs.

It is the ultimate staying test for horses three years old and above and attracts the best in the land.

Melbourne Cup date

The Melbourne Cup is the biggest and most famous race on the Australian racing calendar.

It is part of the Melbourne Spring carnival and is raced on the first Tuesday in November each year.

The 2024 edition of the Melbourne Cup will take place on Tuesday 5th November.

Melbourne Cup time

The Melbourne Cup is, of course, the feature race of the day and will be Race 7 on a bumper card and will start at approximately 15:00 (AEST).

Melbourne Cup venue

The Melbourne Cup is always raced at the iconic Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Victoria.

Melbourne Cup how to watch

The Melbourne Cup will be shown free-to-air on Channel 7 and also via the 7plus app.

Melbourne Cup prize money

The Melbourne Cup is the richest two-mile race in the world and in 2024 to total prize fund stands at $8million.

The winner of the Melbourne Cup claims a cool $4.4million, while second place gets $1.1million, third $550,000.

Fourth place earns $350,000, fifth $230,000, while sixth to 12th place all take home $160,000 each for their efforts.

Melbourne Cup history

The Melbourne Cup has a long and proud history and has cemented itself as part of Australian culture.

The Melbourne Cup was first raced in 1861, when 17 horses contested the race, which was won by a horse named Archer.

Apart from a break for World War I and World War II, the Melbourne Cup has been raced ever year since 1861.

Melbourne Cup past winners

There have been some memorable winners of the Melbourne Cup, no more so than Makybe Diva, who holds the record for most wins.

Makybe Diva won the Melbourne Cup three times in a row in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Without A Fight won the 2023 edition of the Melbourne Cup for trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman and jockey Mark Zahra.

Zahra also won the Melbourne Cup in 2022 on board Gold Trip.

Melbourne Cup odds

Jan Brueghel is seen as the horse to beat in 2024 and is priced at 8.00 to win the Melbourne Cup.

Vauban can be backed at 11.00, while Point King and Warmonger are 15.00.