How to run a Melbourne Cup Calcutta

It may be becoming a relic of the past, but many of us fondly remember the Melbourne Cup Calcutta as an important build-up event to the race that stops a nation.

Very much different from your typical Melbourne Cup sweep that gets conducted in the office or home, a Calcutta involves a ticket draw and a separate auction process.

2024 Melbourne Cup Calcutta guide
Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse

We think it is high time that pubs, clubs and sporting organisations brought it back, so we have knocked up this handy guide to running your own Calcutta for the Melbourne Cup.


What to know before conducting a Melbourne Cup Calcutta

  • Be across your local state’s laws:

    Many states and territories have different laws surrounding Calcuttas, so before you blindly go out and put one together you need to be aware of the guidelines you need to follow.

    In Victoria, for instance, you need to apply for a permit to run a Calcutta as a club, but in NSW you may conduct a sweep or Calcutta without a permit if the ticket sales total less than $20,000.

    Save yourself any headaches down the track and check with your local state laws before you put a Calcutta together.

  • Have clear rules set in place:

    This is probably the most important aspect of a successful Calcutta. Make sure every competitor knows your stance on scratched runners (whether it is a full refund or just bad luck), how the prize money is divided and what happens when the horse owner is outbid on a galloper.

    Trust us, making the rules crystal clear will only benefit you in the long run.

What are the rules of a Melbourne Cup Calcutta?

Once you’ve decided you want to put a Melbourne Cup Calcutta on and you have done your due diligence, it’s time to get the party started.

  • The ticket draw:

    Tickets, which you can price however you like, are sold prior to the draw. Dish them out over the weeks leading up or sell them all on the night – it’s up to you.

    The Calcutta then commences with one ticket being drawn for each runner in the Melbourne Cup. If there are 24 runners, then 24 tickets are drawn – regardless of how many people enter the draw. Should your ticket come up, you ‘own’ that horse ahead of the auction stage.

    All proceeds from the ticket draw go into the prize pool. If your ticket is not drawn, never fear – the Calcutta is only just warming up.

  • The Auction:

    Each horse is put up for auction, thus giving every Calcutta attendee the opportunity to bid on a runner. It does not matter if your ticket wasn’t drawn – bidding is open to everybody. Horse owners can bid on any runner, including their own. The highest bidder wins the right to own that horse in the Cup.

  • After the fee is decided:

    Once a horse is auctioned off, half of the sale price goes to the person who drew it in the raffle. The remaining 50 per cent goes into the ever-growing prize pool. This gives a distinct advantage to the horse owner, or gives them something to fall back on if they are unsuccessful.

    In the unlikely event that a horse garners no votes, the person who won the horse in the initial draw will take that runner into the Cup.

    If you are running a tight ship you will want to collect the funds on the night. It is amazing how many people will “forget” to pay when their elect runs like a dud.


Your Calcutta after the Melbourne Cup is run and won

The nation has stopped, the race has been run and it is time to divvy up the winnings. How you decide to do this is entirely up to you, but a typical Calcutta payout works like so:

Winner of the race 60%
Second place-getter 25%
Third place-getter 15%

There are no rules as to how you decide who takes a prize home, so you can be as creative as you want. Just make sure your competitors are aware of the rules before they enter the Calcutta.

  • Have fun and enjoy the race:
    This is the most important part. Calcuttas are designed as a fun and different way to enjoy the Melbourne Cup, so keep it light, have a laugh and don’t take it too seriously. Once all the hard work is done, just sit back and enjoy the race.

2023 Melbourne Cup Field

Gold Trip Silks

1. Gold Trip (2)

Alenquer Silks

2. Alenquer (9)

Without A Fight Silks

3. Without A Fight (16)

Breakup Silks

4. Breakup (18)

Vauban Silks

5. Vauban (3)

  • T: Willie Mullins
  • J: Ryan Moore
  • W: 55kg
  • F: 34211x
  • Age: 5YO
  • Color: Chestnut
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: Gallway (GB)
  • Dam: Waldfest (IRE)
Soulcombe Silks

6. Soulcombe (4)

  • T: Chris Waller
  • J: Joao Moreira
  • W: 53.5kg
  • F: 2×1437
  • Age: 5YO
  • Color: Bay
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: Frankel (GB)
  • Dam: Ribbons (GER)
Absurde Silks

7. Absurde (8)

  • T: Willie Mullins
  • J: Zac Purton
  • W: 53kg
  • F: 7×1261
  • Age: 6YO
  • Color: Bay
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: Fastnet Rock (AUS)
  • Dam: Incroyable (IRE)
Right You Are Silks

8. Right You Are (15)

Vow and Declare Silks

9. Vow And Declare (19)

  • T: Danny O’Brien
  • J: Billy Egan
  • W: 53kg
  • F: 60×022
  • Age: 8YO
  • Color: Chestnut
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: Declaration Of War (USA)
  • Dam: Geblitzt (NZ)
Cleveland Silks

10. Cleveland (23)

  • T: Kris Lees
  • J: Michael Dee
  • W: 52kg
  • F: x49621
  • Age: 6YO
  • Color: Bay
  • Sex: Horse
  • Sire: Camelot (GB)
  • Dam: Venus de Milo (IRE)
Ashrun Silks

11. Ashrun (11)

Daqiansweet Junior Silks

12. Daqiansweet Junior (12)

Okita Soushi Silks

13. Okita Soushi (20)

Sheraz Silks

14. Sheraz (22)

  • T: Chris Waller
  • J: Beau Mertens
  • W: 51.5kg
  • F: 1×2341
  • Age: 7YO
  • Color: Bay
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: Sea The Stars (IRE)
  • Dam: Shemiyla (IRE)
Lastotchka Silks

15. Lastotchka (21)

Magical Lagoon Silks

16. Magical Lagoon (7)

Military Mission Silks

17. Military Mission (5)

Serpentine Silks

18. Serpentine (1)

Virtuous Circle Silks

19. Virtuous Circle (6)

  • T: Liam Howley
  • J: Craig Newitt
  • W: 51kg
  • F: 2×0908
  • Age: 4YO
  • Color: Bay
  • Sex: Horse
  • Sire: Almanzor (FR)
  • Dam: She Is Stryking
More Felons Silks

20. More Felons (24)

  • T: Chris Waller
  • J: Jamie Kah
  • W: 50.5kg
  • F: 657285
  • Age: 5YO
  • Color: Bay
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: Churchill (IRE)
  • Dam: Pivotalia (IRE)
Future History Silks

21. Future History (13)

Interpretation Silks

22. Interpretation (17)

Kalapour Silks

23. Kalapour (14)

  • T: Kris Lees
  • J: Zac Lloyd
  • W: 50kg
  • F: 3L7331
  • Age: 7YO
  • Color: Bay
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: War Command (IRE)
  • Dam: Daldiyna (FR)
True Marvel Silks

24. True Marvel (10)

  • T: Matthew Smith
  • J: Ben Thompson
  • W: 50kg
  • F: 138080
  • Age: 8YO
  • Color: Brown
  • Sex: Gelding
  • Sire: Masked Marvel (GB)
  • Dam: Anecdotique (GB)
No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Odds
1 Silks
Gold Trip
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
James McDonald
2
58.5kg
+340
2 Silks
Alenquer
Michael Moroney
Damien Oliver
9
56.5kg
+5000
3 Silks
Without A Fight
Anthony & Sam Freedman
Mark Zahra
16
56.5kg
+600
4 Silks
Breakup
Tatsuya Yoshioka
Kohei Matsuyama
18
55kg
+1700
5 Silks
Vauban
Willie Mullins
Ryan Moore
3
55kg
+240
6 Silks
Soulcombe
Chris Waller
Joao Moreira
4
53.5kg
+1000
7 Silks
Absurde
Willie Mullins
Zac Purton
8
53kg
+2200
8 Silks
Right You Are
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
John Allen
15
53kg
+7000
9 Silks
Vow And Declare
Danny O’Brien
Billy Egan
19
53kg
+3000
10 Silks
Cleveland
Kris Lees
Michael Dee
23
52kg
+2600
11 Silks
Ashrun
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Kerrin McEvoy
11
51.5kg
+4000
12 Silks
Daqiansweet Junior
Phillip Stokes
Daniel Stackhouse
12
51.5kg
+9000
13 Silks
Okita Soushi
Joseph O’Brien
Dylan Gibbons
20
51.5kg
+7000
14 Silks
Sheraz
Chris Waller
Beau Mertens
22
51.5kg
+12500
15 Silks
Lastotchka
Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)
Craig Williams
21
51kg
+2500
16 Silks
Magical Lagoon
Chris Waller
Mark Du Plessis
7
51kg
+9000
17 Silks
Military Mission
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
Rachel King
5
51kg
+4500
18 Silks
Serpentine
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
Jye McNeil
1
51kg
+6000
19 Silks
Virtuous Circle
Liam Howley
Craig Newitt
6
51kg
+9000
20 Silks
More Felons
Chris Waller
Jamie Kah
24
50.5kg
+3000
21 Silks
Future History
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Hollie Doyle
13
50kg
+2600
22 Silks
Interpretation
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Teo Nugent
17
50kg
+6000
23 Silks
Kalapour
Kris Lees
Zac Lloyd
14
50kg
+5000
24 Silks
True Marvel
Matthew Smith
Ben Thompson
10
50kg
+15000

2023 Melbourne Cup Odds

Flemington - Race 7
Lexus Melbourne Cup
Status: Final
Track Rating: Good4
Weather: Overcast
AUS
3200m03:00pm - Tue 7th Nov
1. Gold Trip
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Best odds atNeds
2. Alenquer
Michael Moroney
Best odds atNeds
3. Without A Fight
A & S Freedman
Best odds atNeds
4. Breakup
Tatsuya Yoshioka
Best odds atNeds
5. Vauban
Willie Mullins
Best odds atNeds
6. Soulcombe
Chris Waller
Best odds atNeds
7. Absurde
Willie Mullins
Best odds atNeds
8. Right You Are
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Best odds atNeds
9. Vow And Declare
Danny O'brien
Best odds atNeds
10. Cleveland
Kris Lees
Best odds atNeds
11. Ashrun
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Best odds atNeds
12. Daqiansweet Junior
Phillip Stokes
Best odds atNeds
13. Okita Soushi
Joseph O'brien
Best odds atNeds
14. Sheraz
Chris Waller
Best odds atNeds
15. Lastotchka
Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr
Best odds atNeds
16. Magical Lagoon
Chris Waller
Best odds atNeds
17. Military Mission
G Waterhouse & A Bott
Best odds atNeds
18. Serpentine
G Waterhouse & A Bott
Best odds atNeds
19. Virtuous Circle
Liam Howley
Best odds atNeds
20. More Felons
Chris Waller
Best odds atNeds
21. Future History
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Best odds atNeds
22. Interpretation
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
Best odds atNeds
23. Kalapour
Kris Lees
Best odds atNeds
24. True Marvel
Matthew Smith
Best odds atNeds

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