Best Melbourne Cup guide 2020
THE Melbourne Cup is the pinnacle of racing in Australia and one of the most popular race for punters around the world. Considered to be “the race that stops a nation” the Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday of each November and attracts, not only the biggest racing crowd each year, but also the most money bet on one race.
The 2018 running of the Melbourne Cup was taken out by Cross Counter, trained by Charlie Appleby, who became the first ever Godolphin horse to win the Melbourne Cup.
2019 Melbourne Cup – Vow And Declare wins one back for the Aussies
The 2019 will be marked in history as the cup where one of only two Australian horses held off the international invasion, aided by one of the greatest rides in Melbourne Cup history by Craig Williams.
Vow And Declare, trained by Danny O’Brien on the comeback trail after winning an appeal against a four year disqualification for cobalt; defied Prince Of Arran, the very unlucky Il Paradiso and Master Of Reality in one of the slowest run Melbourne Cups in recent history.
Aided by a masterful ride from Craig Williams to get Vow And Declare over from barrier 23 and on the rail, the leading division throttled the pace and gave nothing from the back a chance of hitting the line. Williams gave Vow And Declare one of his greatest ever rides to hug the rail, and it proved the winning move as runners outside him shifted in and out in the final stages allowing Vow And Declare to maintain momentum and score the narrowest of Melbourne Cup victories. Just under half a length separated the first four horses over the line, and less the one and a half lengths covered the first eight home.
Frankie Dettori was second over the line on Master Of Reality but was relegated to fourth after Il Paradiso successfully protested against the second place getter due to the interference suffered in the shadows of the post that almost certainly cost Il Paradiso the win.
2019 Melbourne Cup Results & Dividends
| Place | No. | Colours | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Win | Place |
| 1st | 23 |  |
Vow And Declare | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | $11.70 | $3.90 |
| 2nd | 12 |  |
Prince Of Arran | Charlie Fellowes | Michael Walker | $4.60 | |
| 3rd | 20 |  |
Il Paradiso | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan | $6.80 | |
| 4th | 3 |  |
Master Of Reality | Joseph O’Brien | Frankie Dettori | ||
| Quinella | $82.40 | ||||||
| Trifecta | $2,953.40 | ||||||
| First Four | $79,381.00 | ||||||
| *Across the line 23,3,12,20. Protest 4th vs 2nd due to intererference in the last 100m upheld. | |||||||
2019 Melbourne Cup Replay
2019 Melbourne Cup finishing order
| 2019 Melbourne Cup finishing order | |||||||||
| Place | Silks | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Barrier | Weight | Odds |
| 1st |
| 23 | Vow And Declare | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | 23 | 52kg | $12 | |
| 2nd |
| 12 | Prince Of Arran | Charlie Fellowes | Michael Walker | 0.2L | 8 | 54kg | $17 |
| 3rd |
| 20 | Il Paradiso | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan | 0.3L | 17 | 52.5kg | $15 |
| 4th |
| 3 | Master Of Reality | Joseph O’Brien | Frankie Detorri | 0.4L | 1 | 55.5kg | $26 |
| 5th |
| 18 | Surprise Baby | Paul Preusker | Jordan Childs | 0.9L | 20 | 52.5kg | $12 |
| 6th | 
| 2 | Mer De Glace | Hisashi Shimizu | Damian Lane | 1.2L | 2 | 56kg | $9.50 |
| 7th | 
| 11 | Finche | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 1.4L | 4 | 54kg | $8.50 |
| 8th | 
| 1 | Cross Counter | Charlie Appleby | William Buick | 1.6L | 5 | 57.5kg | $13 |
| 9th | 
| 21 | Steel Prince | Anthony Freedman | Brett Prebblk | 2.1L | 16 | 52.5kg | $61 |
| 10th | 
| 15 | Magic Wand | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore | 3.6L | 24 | 53.5kg | $26 |
| 11th | 
| 10 | Twilight Money | Joseph O’Brien | Hugh Bowman | 3.8L | 19 | 55kg | $41 |
| 12th | 
| 17 | Sound | Mike Moroney | James Winks | 3.9L | 10 | 53.5kg | $91 |
| 13th | 
| 19 | Constantinople | D & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Joao Moreira | 4.1L | 7 | 52.5kg | $9.50 |
| 14th | 
| 4 | Mirage Dancer | T Busuttin & N Young | Ben Melham | 4.3L | 13 | 55.5kg | $51 |
| 15th | 
| 6 | Hunting Horn | Aidan O’Brien | Seamie Heffernan | 4.5L | 11 | 55kg | $51 |
| 16th | 
| 13 | Raymond Tusk | Richard Hannon | Jamie Spencer | 5L | 3 | 54kg | $21 |
| 17th | 
| 22 | The Chosen One | M Baker & A Forsman | Tim Clark | 5.2L | 18 | 52kg | $31 |
| 18th | 
| 7 | Latrobe | Joseph O’Brien | James McDonald | 6.45L | 22 | 55kg | $21 |
| 19th | 
| 5 | Southern France | C Maher & D Eustace | Mark Zahra | 6.55L | 14 | 55.5kg | $26 |
| 20th | 
| 24 | Youngstar | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 7.3L | 9 | 52kg | $31 |
| 21st | 
| 16 | Neufbosc | D & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 8.3L | 23 | 53.5kg | $101 |
| 22nd | 
| 14 | Downdraft | Joseph O’Brien | John Allen | 8.6L | 15 | 53.5kg | $21 |
| 8 | Mustajeeer | Kris Lees | Damien Oliver | 10.85L | 6 | 55kg | $19 | |
| Last | 
| 9 | Rostropovich | D & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn | 40.85 | 12 | 55kg | $41 |
BEST ONLINE BOOKIES
2019 Melbourne Cup odds
After the call of the card on Monday, Finche has taken over as Melbourne Cup 2019 favourite; ahead of Japanese Caulfield Cup winner Mer De Glace.
Online bookmaker Ladbrokes has the latest winner as the $15 favourite to go back-to-back in the race that stops a nation.
Betting on a normal day’s racing isn’t even comparable to those who punt on the Melbourne Cup.
The atmosphere, even sitting at home, is unlike anything else and Australians embrace the day like no other. For adults in Australia its as hotly looked forward to as Christmas Day.
From a punting perspective, there are a large majority of us that just like to have a runner in the office sweepstakes, but there’s nothing better than punting your hard-earned cash on your Melbourne Cup fancy.
There are multiple reasons to have a bet in the Melbourne Cup:
Firstly, the size of the pools are massive — bigger than any other pool for any other race in Australia and around the world.
What does this mean for you? Even if you’re betting only $1 in the Melbourne Cup, that $1 has already increased in value because the bigger the pool, the better your horse will pay with bookmakers.
If the pool was small, there would be less money to divided between the winning bets, but the Melbourne Cup pools exceed into the millions and this is where Melbourne Cup punters take full advantage.
Secondly, because the pools are so high, the possible payouts for players of Quaddies, Trifectas, Quinellas, Trebles and Doubles are very rewarding.
The Quaddie involving the Melbourne Cup gets into the millions and even if all four favourites win, the payouts are still profitable.
* The favourites have a 23% winning record in the Melbourne Cup. Just 34 of 150 favourites have won.
Lastly, our recommended bookmakers have a wide range of Melbourne Cup specials and promotions. Unfortunately though sign up bonuses are now banned at Australian online bookmakers following the introduction of the National Gambling Framework on May 26 2019.
They also offer refund specials, so if your selected horse doesn’t win, you can still get your money back, along with plenty more rewarding promotions.
The 2019 Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s major thoroughbred horse race, not only because of the stake money involved, but it’s a day where even those who have never punted in their life have a little flutter with the bookmakers.
The 3200-metre race is one of the longest flat races in Australia and carries a current prize purse of A$7 million with the winner being paid $4 million.
The prize money has steadily grown over the past 10 years due to its increase in popularity with punters. It’s punters money that drives the horse racing business and increases have seen its total prize pool shoot from $5 million in 2005 to $7 million in 2018.
The race is run at Flemington (Read: How to travel to the Melbourne Cup), Victoria’s premier race track, and the current sponsor is Emirates Airlines which supplies the winning trophies, valued at around $250,000.
For Australians, the Melbourne Cup is a public holiday which saves them from making an excuse at work. It is also a popular race in New Zealand, Europe and Asia as those three contingents usually have runners in the Melbourne Cup itself.
Recent runnings of the Melbourne Cup
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
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| Vow And Declare | Cross Counter | Rekindling | Almandin | Prince Of Penzance | Protectionist |
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| Trainer Danny O’Brien |
Trainer Charlie Appleby |
Trainer Joseph O’Brien |
Trainer Robert Hickmott |
Trainer Darren Weir |
Trainer Andreas Wohler |
| Jockey Craig Williams |
Jockey Kerrin McEvoy |
Jockey Corey Brown |
Jockey Kerrin McEvoy |
Jockey Michelle Payne |
Jockey Ryan Moore |
- 2018 will forever be remembered as the year Great Britain came to the Melbourne Cup party.
Cross Counter helped the mother country win its first Cup, while Marmelo and Prince of Arran (also trained in England) filled out the first three positions, while Finche, also trained in Great Britain, was fourth and Rostropovich (Irish) placed fifth.
The highest-placed Aussie was Chris Waller-trained Youngstar, which finished sixth.
Pre-race favourites Magic Circle (16th), Avilius (22nd) and Best Solution (8th) failed to make an impression.
2018 Melbourne Cup Results & Dividends
Place Colours Horse Trainer Jockey Win Place 1st Cross Counter Charlie Appleby Kerrin McEvoy $9 $4.40 2nd 
Marmelo Hughie Morrison Hugh Bowman $4.10 3rd 
A Prince Of Arran Charlie Fellows Michael Walker $7 4th 
Finche Chris Waller Zac Purton Quinella $74.70 Trifecta $2,541.90 First Four $38,020.70 2018 Melbourne Cup finishing order
Place Silks No. Horse Trainer Jockey Margin Barrier Weight Odds 1 23 Cross Counter Charlie Appleby Kerrin McEvoy 19 51kg $15 2 9 Marmelo Hughie Morrison Hugh Bowman 1L 10 55kg $12 3 17 A Prince Of Arran Charlie Fellows Michael Walker 3L 20 53kg $23 4 13 Finche Chris Waller Zac Purton 3.5L 15 54kg $26 5 
24 Rostropovich Aidan O’Brien Wayne Lordan 4.5L 21 51kg $21 6 
22 Youngstar Chris Waller Craig Williams 5.75L 21 51.5kg $11 7 
19 Sir Charles Road Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott Oliver Peslier 8.25L 14 53kg $126 8 
1 Best Solution Saeed Bin Suroor Pat Cosgrove 8.75L 6 57.5kg $16 9 
5 Muntahaa John Gosden Jim Crowley 9.5L 13 55.5kg $17 10 
16 Ventura Storm David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig Mark Zahra 11L 7 54.5kg $31 11 
11 Yucatan Aidan O’Brien James McDonald 11.75L 23 54.5kg $6 12 
18 Nakeeta Iain Jardine Regan Bayliss 11.85L 3 53kg $81 13 
18 Zacada Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman Damian Lane 13.85L 20 53kg $151 14 
4 Chestnut Coat Yoshito Yahagi Yuga Kawada 16.1L 4 55.5kg $71 15 
15 Vengeur Masque David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig Patrick Moloney 16.3L 2 54kg $51 16 
3 Magic Circle Ian Williams Corey Brown 19.55L 15 56kg $7 17 
7 Who Shot TheBarman Chris Waller Ben Melham 22.55L 17 55.5kg $31 18 
6 Sound Check Michael Moroney Jordan Childs 27.55L 16 51kg $41 19 
21 Runaway Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Stephen Baster 28.05L 12 52kg $81 20 
8 Ace High David Payne Tye Angland 28.15L 22 55kg $71 21 
12 Auvray Richard Freedman Tommy Berry 68.15L 1 54kg $81 22 
10 Avilius James Cummings Glyn Schofield 69.15L 11 54.5kg $16 23 
14 Red Cardinal Darren Weir Damien Oliver 69.55L 5 54kg $31 24 
2 The Cliffsofmoher Aidan O’Brien Ryan Moore DNF 9 56.5kg $21 - 2017: Who would have thought an O’Brien-trained Melbourne Cup win would have the name Joseph rather than Aiden? The 2017 Melbourne Cup was an all family affair heading into the straight as Lloyd Williams-owned pair Rekindling and Johannes Vermeer pulled away in the latter stages of the race. It was the 24-year-old O’Brien who toppled his father with Rekindling, becoming the first father and son team to train the winner and second placed runner in the Cup.
2017 Melbourne Cup Results & Dividends
Place Colours Horse Trainer Jockey Win Place 1st 
Rekindling Joseph O’Brien Corey Brown $17.10 $5.90 2nd 
Johannes Vermeer Aidan O’Brien Ben Melham $4.20 3rd 
Max Dynamite Willie Mullins Zac Purton $5.20 4th 
Big Duke Darren Weir Brenton Avdulla Quinella $96.90 Trifecta $3,025.10 First Four $44,736.30 2017 Melbourne Cup finishing order
Place Silks No. Horse Trainer Jockey Margin Barrier Weight Odds 1 22 Rekindling Joseph O’Brien Corey Brown 4 51.5kg $15 2 7 Johannes Vermeer Aiden O’Brien Ben Melham 0.4L 3 54.5kg $13 3 9 Max Dynamite William Mullins Zac Purton 2.9L 2 54kg $20 4 13 Big Duke Darren Weir Brenton Avdulla 5.65L 5 53.5kg $21 5 
18 Nakeeta Iain Jardine Glyn Schofield 6.4L 19 53kg $41 6 
21 Thomas Hobson William Mullins Ben Allen 8.65L 21 52kg $21 7 
4 Tiberian Alain Couetil Oliver Peslier 9.15L 23 55.5kg $31 8 
17 Libran Chris Waller Dwayne Dunn 9.65L 7 53kg $61 9 
5 Marmelo Hughie Morrison Hugh Bowman 9.75L 16 55kg $7 10 
12 Wicklow Brave William Mullins Stephen Baster 10.5L 8 54kg $71 11 
6 Red Cardinal Andreas Wohler Kerrin McEvoy 11.25L 24 55kg $16 12 
2 Almandin Robert Hickmott Frankie Dettori 11.45L 14 56.5kg $7 13 
23 Cismontane Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Beau Mertens 12.2L 17 50kg $41 14 23 Amelie’s Star Darren Weir Dean Yendall 12.95L 10 51kg $21 15 
15 Boom Time David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig Cory Parish 13.95L 9 53kg $31 16 
20 Wall Of Fire Hugo Palmer Craig Williams 15.45L 15 53kg $11 17 
19 Single Gaze Nick Olive Kathy O’Hara 15.85L 11 53kg $31 18 
14 US Army Ranger Joseph O’Brien Jamie Spencer 16.15L 22 53.5kg $71 19 
3 Humidor Darren Weir Blake Shinn 16.65L 13 56kg $11 20 
1 Hartnell James Cummings Damian Lane 28.65L 12 57.5kg $26 21 
10 Ventura Storm David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig Glen Boss 30.15L 6 54kg $31 22 
8 Bondi Beach Robert Hickmott Michael Walker 31.4L 1 54kg $71 23 
16 Gallante Robert Hickmott Michael Dee 99.9L 18 53kg $91 11
11 Who Shot ThebarmanChris Waller Tommy Berry 20 54kg SCR - 2016: Almandin offered punters plenty of value despite getting plenty of attention in the days leading up to the Cup. Trained by Robert Hickmott, a former Melbourne footballer, and ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, the six year old gelding sat midfield for most of the race before joining a wall of challengers. Pre-race favourite Hartnell hit the front on the straight, but Almandin powered home to beat Irish stayer Heartbreak City. Read a full report here.
2016 Melbourne Cup result & dividends
Place Colours Horse Trainer Jockey Win Place 1st Almandin Robert Hickmott Kerrin McEvoy $11.80 $4.40 2nd 
Heartbreak City Tony Martin Joao Moreira $6.20 3rd Hartnell John O’Shea James McDonald $2.80 4th 
Qewy Charlie Appelby Craig Williams Quinella $119.80 Trifecta $1,232.70 First Four $26,487.10 2016 Melbourne Cup finishing order
Place Silks No. Horse Trainer Jockey Margin Barrier Weight Odds 1 17 Almandin (GER) Robert Hickmott Kerrin McEvoy 17 52kg $11 2 13 Heartbreak City (FR) Tony Martin Joao Moreira 0.2L 23 54kg $19 3 6 Hartnell (GB) John O’Shea James McDonald 4.45L 12 56kg $5.50F 4 23 Qewy (IRE) Charlie Appleby Craig Williams 6.7L 15 51.5kg $21 5 7 Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) Chris Waller Hugh Bowman 6.8L 20 56kg $26 6 
9 Almoonqith (USA) David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Michael Walker 6.9L 19 54.5kg $31 7 
16 Beautiful Romance (GB) Saeed Bin Suroor Damian Lane 7.9L 1 52.5kg $71 8 
5 Exospheric (GB) Lee & Anthony Freedman Damien Oliver 8.65L 13 56kg $21 9 
22 Pentathlon (NZ) John Wheeler Mark Du Plessis 9.4L 4 51.5kg $81 10 
1 Big Orange (GB) Michael Bell James Spencer 9.5L 7 57kg $14 11 
11 Grand Marshal (GB) Chris Waller Ben Melham 9.8L 9 54.5kg $31 12 
20 Oceanographer (GB) Charlie Appleby Chad Schofield 10L 11 52kg $9 13 
4 Bondi Beach (IRE) Aidan O’Brien Ryan Moore 10.75L 5 56kg $13 14 
19 Grey Lion (IRE) Matt Cumani Glen Boss 13.75L 16 52kg $41 15 
12 Jameka Ciaron Maher Nicholas Hall 13.95L 3 54.5kg $8.50 16 
15 Excess Knowledge(GB) Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Vlad Duric 15.7L 21 53.5kg $61 17 
2 Our Ivanhowe (GER) Lee & Anthony Freedman Dwayne Dunn 15.8L 6 57kg $51 18 
14 Sir John Hawkwood (IRE) John P Thompson Blake Spriggs 20.8L 14 54kg $81 19 
18 Assign (IRE) Robert Hickmott Ms Katelyn Mallyon 20.9L 22 52kg $51 20 
10 Gallante (IRE) Robert Hickmott Blake Shinn 22.15L 2 54.5kg $51 21 
21 Secret Number (GB) Saeed Bin Suroor Stephen Baster 22.35L 10 52kg $31 22 8 Wicklow Brave (GB) William Mullins Frankie Dettori 24.35L 24 56kg $16 23 
3 Curren Mirotic (JPN) Osamu Hirata Tommy Berry 27.35L 18 56.5kg $51 24 
24 Rose Of Virginia (NZ) Lee & Shannon Hope Ben E Thompson (a) 99.9L 8 51kg $61 
2015: Michelle Payne became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, when she guided Prince of Penzance to a historic victory. The win catapulted Payne into international stardom and highlighted just how unpredictable the world’s best staying race can be. The $101 outsider, which was trained by a stunned Darren Weir, beat home English stayer Max Dynamite ($13) and weight-for-age ace Criterion ($19). Remarkably Prince Of Penzance was the longest priced winner, ever, of the Melbourne Cup. The race was also notable as the last for grand old stayer Red Cadeux, who pulled up distressed, and was eventually euthanised. - 2014: Protectionist claimed this year’s Melbourne Cup for Germany, with the Andreas Wohler trained star streeting a tired field to win by three lengths. Jockey Ryan Moore put on a masterclass, settling the horse nicely before avoiding traffic and eventually timing a run to perfection. The race was marred by the death of two horses with pre-race favourite Admire Rakti perishing in his stalls after the race, while Araldo was euthanised after breaking a leg. Remarkably Red Cadeaux finished second for a third time after hitting the lead in the straight. Who Shot Thebarman ran third while Signoff came in fourth.
- Fiorente gave the Queen Of The Turf Gai Waterhouse her first Melbourne Cup victory, in the process becoming the first female to train a Cup winner. Red Cadeaux finished second, a second time, after a runner up in 2011. Mount Athos ran third. But it was all about Waterhouse, jockey Damien Oliver and the marvellous Fiorente. It was Olly’s third Melbourne Cup and put to bed a horror 18 months where he was found guilty and ultimately suspended for betting on a rival horse.
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
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| Green Moon | Dunaden | Americain | Shocking | Viewed |
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| Trainer Robert Hickmott |
Trainer Mikel Delzangles |
Trainer Alain de Royer Dupre |
Trainer Mark Kavanagh |
Trainer Bart Cummings |
| Jockey Brett Prebble |
Jockey Christophe Lemaire |
Jockey Gerarld Mosse |
Jockey Corey Brown |
Jockey Blake Shinn |
Famous owner Lloyd Williams won his fourth Melbourne Cup in 2012, when Green Moon saluted, paying $20. Williams had imported the horse specifically from England to win a Melbourne Cup and his decisions paid of in spades, with Brett Prebble expertly steering it home ahead of Fiorente ($31) and Jakkalberry ($81). All three of the placings were imported horses. The winner was trained by former AFL footballer Robert Hickmott. Pre-race favourite Dunaden found trouble early and never got into the race.- Dunaden saluted in one of the most thrilling Melbourne Cup’s in recent history, with the French horse, the second favourite at $8.20, beating out English horse Red Cadeaux, who was to go on and create a remarkable bit of history in the great race in later years, by a whisker. After a pulsating finish, German horse Lucas Cranach rounded out the placings, consigning Australian horses to the scrap heap.
- It would have been more fitting if an Australian-horse won the 150th Cup, but it was not to be, with USA-bred and French trained Americain saluting. One of the top elects, powered home with a nice turn of speed to win ahead of light weight Maluckyday and favourite So You think. The six-year-old was ridden by Gerald Mosse and trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre had solid lead up form, winning the Geelong Cup several weeks before.
Melbourne Cup history
The Melbourne Cup was first run in 1861 when it was won by Archer. The six-year-old trained by Etienne de Mestre came back the following year and won it again. Unfortunately, Archer was scratched in the 1863 Melbourne Cup due to a technicality when its acceptance papers didn’t arrive in time.
Archer was unable to complete the hat-trick and was retired and returned to its owners where it had been foaled.
Archer set the standard for Melbourne Cup horses and there have been a couple that have won consecutive Melbourne Cups (Think Big 1974/75 and Rain Lover 1968/69), but not even the great Phar Lap was able to achieve what Archer had done.
There has been one horse in recent history that has surpassed what Archer paved the way for back in the late 1900s, and that was when the feel-good story Makybe Diva won three consecutive Melbourne Cups, starting in 2003 and ending in 2005.
The Lee Freedman-trained mare was ridden by Glen Boss in all three starts and it gave the group of owners, in which the horse was named after, a great thrill. In winning three consecutive Melbourne Cups, Makybe Diva elapsed New Zealand’s Sunline as the highest grossing horse in Australian racing history.
Melbourne Cup timeline
There have been plenty of changes over the course of history in the Melbourne Cup carnival. Listed below are the majors changes which have shaped the race we all love a punt on.
- 1869: Four day Spring Racing carnival was introduced (encompassing Derby Day, Oaks, Emirate Stakes and Melbourne Cup).
- 1876: Peter St. Albans was the youngest jockey to win the Cup (12 years, 11 months and 23 days.)
- 1882:The first bookmakers were licensed at Flemington. (Now punters can bet either at Flemington, or in the comfort of their own home with the many off-course bookmakers we recommend).
- 1896: The Melbourne Cup was first filmed. The race was won by Newhaven.
- 1958: The first Cup to be run using starting stalls
- 1987: First female jockey to ride in the Cup was Maree Lyndon.
- 1990: Kingston Town sets the existing race record.
- 1993: Vintage Crop becomes the first ‘international raider’ to win the Melbourne Cup.
- 2003: First Australian female rider to ride was Clair Lindop aboard Debben.
- 2005: Makybe Diva become the first horse to win it three times.
- 2010: Americain became the first French-trained horse to win.
- 2015: Michelle Payne becomes the first female jockey to win the great race, guiding Prince of Penzance home at huge odds.
- 2017: Joseph O’Brien at the age of 24 becomes the youngest trainer in history to win the Melbourne Cup with the Lloyd Williams-owned Rekindled.
- 2018: After 30 years and millions of dollars invested, Cross Counter finally lands a Melbourne Cup for team Godolphin.
- 2019: Vow And Declare, one of only two Australian horses in the race; wins the Melbourne Cup for trainer Danny O’Brien who is on the comeback trail after winning appeals against a four year disqualification stemming from the Cobalt inquiries.
Melbourne Cup statistics and records
Listed below are some of the credited records and results over the years for the Melbourne Cup. These feature most wins, winning time and the longest odds paid by a winner. To get the complete picture read our full Melbourne Cup Statistics guide which includes a plethora or facts and figures from the races inception right through to today.
3 – Makybe Diva (2003, 2004, 2005)
2 – Think Big (1974, 1975)
2 – Rain Lover (1968, 1969)
2 – Peter Pan (1932, 1934)
2 – Archer (1861, 1862)
4 – Bobby Lewis (1902, 1915, 1919, 1927)
4 – Harry White (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979)
12 – Bart Cummings (1965, 66′, 67′, 74′, 75′, 77′, 79′, 90′, 91′, 96′, 99′, 2008)Bart Cummings is the godfather of Australian Cups racing with 12 Melbourne Cup wins. Starting with Light Fingers ridden by the great Roy Higgins in 1965, Cummings has made the Melbourne Cup his own.
His most recent win came with outsider Viewed which paid a massive price of $41, but his most memorable wins came with Saintly (1996), Let’s Elope (1991) and Think Big’s back-to-back victories in the mid-70s.
5 – Etienne de Mestre (1861, 1862, 1867, 1877, 1878)
5 – Lee Freedman (1989, 1992, 1995, 2004, 2005) – David Hall trained Makybe Diva for its 2003 Melbourne Cup win.
6 – Lloyd Williams
4 – John Tait
4 – Eitenne de Mestre
4 – Dato Tan Chin Nam (most notably with Saintly in 1996 and Viewed in 2008)Lloyd Williams is a perennial Melbourne Cup supporter and there’s rarely a Melbourne Cup run without one of his horses lining up.
His first success came in 1981 with Just a Dash which was trained by the legendary T J Smith (Gai Waterhouse’s father). He didn’t wait long for this second success which came in 1985 with What A Nuisance.
Twenty-two years later Williams was back in winning action at Flemington when the Graeme Rogerson-trained Efficient scored the win as a four-year-old.
Just five years later, the now retired Green Moon scored as a six-year-old with Brett Prebble in the saddle.
Williams scored his fifth Melbourne Cup win in 2016 with European import Almandin. That gave the famous owner the Melbourne Cup record of most wins by an owner. Just one year later Williams took his Melbourne Cup tally to six after Rekindled saluted for young gun trainer Joseph O’Brien.
Record winning time: 3.16.30 Kingston Rule (1990)
Widest winning margin: eight lengths by Archer in 1862 and Rain Lover in 1968
Heaviest weight carried by winner Carbine (66kg) and Makybe Diva holds the record for a mare with 58kg in 2005. Phar Lap carried the heaviest weight of all time in 1931 where it finished eighth. That now equates to 68kg.
Longest odds winners Four horses have won paying $100. The Pearl (1871), Wotan (1936), Old Rowley (1940) and Prince Of Penzance in 2015.
Shortest odds winners Phar Lap at 8/11 ($1.73) in 1930.
Fewest runners 7 (1863)
Most runners 39 (1890). Fields are now limited to a maximum of 24 runners for safety concerns.
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