Bringing specialist expertise in rugby (both league and union) and cricket, Ella Miller is a dedicated member of the Wetten team with years of experience in creating betting-related content. Having started writing about sports with her own blog while at university studying journalism and, post-graduation, turned her wordsmith abilities to writing for a variety of different sites. She joined the Wetten team in 2019 and is now a Contributing Editor for various sections of the site. When she's not working for Wetten, Ella loves attending any rugby or cricket match she can get to, horse riding, and tending to her garden.
The Melbourne Cup race is one they say that stops a nation. That nation is Australia and, as such, this is one of the most famous sporting events that happens Down Under.
People do Melbourne Cup betting all over the world. That means you need a top international bookmaker like Unibet for placing your wagers on this renowned race. Through Wetten.com, you can see all the best betting sites for Melbourne Cup wagering, plus full history and details about this spectacular horse racing event.
Here, you can compare all the best betting sites for Melbourne Cup gambling platforms available in Australia. The top bookmakers for horse betting Australia has to offer sit side by side with multi-national sportsbooks that provide services to this region and beyond. Each has one thing in common – excellence when it comes to Melbourne Cup betting and other famous races in this country.
Our team of experts make thorough reviews of these best betting sites for Melbourne Cup wagering, so you know where it’s worth placing your bets. Those conducting the assessments are bettors just like you, and that adds a real authenticity that money can’t buy. They know what to look out for, and it goes beyond just offering prices on main events like Melbourne Cup racing action. Forms security to sign up offers and customer support to payment methods, considering the all-round gambling experience is essential.
That is how Wetten.com has become an authority. With our recommended bookmaker sites in Australia, you know that you’re on a great platform for placing a Melbourne Cup bet or two. With that in mind, there is also some important criteria specific to gambling on this massive horse race that you need to consider, just as our expert review team did, below.
What leading Melbourne Cup bookmakers provide
It almost goes without saying that the best betting sites for Melbourne Cup gambling have certain things they need to offer on this major event. Here is a breakdown of what best in class looks like. Consider all of the following before you put your stake down on any Melbourne Cup bet in future:
Futures betting, sometimes called ante post
Melbourne Cup betting promotions like extra places
Non-runner no bet terms so you get your stake back on horses that are balloted out
Live streaming of all the action from Flemington
Expert tips and handicapping assessments
Our Recommended Best Betting Sites for Melbourne Cup Wagering:
The Melbourne Cup is a Group 1 turf handicap for Flat stayers over 3,200m (about two miles). It is the richest handicap race of its type and distance held anywhere in the world. Scheduled for the first Tuesday in November and run at Flemington Racecourse outside downtown Melbourne, there are regular international entries in this event.
As the highlight of the Spring Carnival and organised by the Victoria Racing Club, the Melbourne Cup puts the eyes of the sports betting world on Australia on that day. As the race is heavily oversubscribed with potential runners, there are certain ballot exemption races you can read about below which guarantee the horses which win a run.
The rest of the Melbourne Cup racing entries must go through the ballot. This is a process where the Victoria Racing Club handicaps every horse and decides on the best who then gets into the event. Only 19 can receive a place in the Melbourne Cup via this, plus five winners of the ballot exemption races. It is a tough job handicapping overseas horses from other countries against each other. Each horse who gets in receives an allotted weight that they have to carry around Flemington.
Melbourne Cup Ballot Exemption Races
There are currently five ballot exemption races for the Melbourne Cup, run during the weeks and months in the build-up to the big day at Flemington. Some of these are better known outside of Australia than others. International bettors may have heard of the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate, so here is the current list in full:
The Andrew Ramsden Stakes (Listed), 2,800m, Flemington, middle of May
The Bart Cummings Handicap (Group 3), 2,500m, Flemington, early October
Caulfield Cup Handicap (Group 1), 2,400m, Caulfield, middle of October
Cox Plate (Group 1), 2,040m, Moonee Valley, late October
Lexus Hotham Stakes Handicap (Group 3), 2,500m, Flemington, late October
In the past, a number of international horse racing events held outside of Australia have carried a ballot exemption for the Melbourne Cup race with them for winning. This was to help incentivise overseas runners to head Down Under and contest the Flemington showpiece. Here is a list of those:
Tenno Sho (Spring) (Grade 1), 3,200m, Kyoto, Japan, late April or early May
San Juan Capistrano Stakes (Grade 2), 2,736m, Santa Anita, USA, June
Arlington Million (Grade 1), 2,000m, Arlington Park, USA, August
Doncaster Cup (Group 2), 3,600m, Doncaster, UK, middle of September
Irish St Leger (Group 1), 2,800m, Curragh, Ireland, middle of September
Sankei Sho All Comers (Grade 2), 2,200m, Nakayama, Japan, late September
History of the Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup racing dates back in 1861. That means the 2021 renewal marks 160 years since the race’s inauguration. It has evolved from those beginnings into an event of international renown. In the Australian state of Victoria where Melbourne is the largest city, the day of the race has been a Public Holiday for almost all of its history!
Flemington Racecourse, where it’s fair to say a Melbourne Cup bet or two has been struck over the years, is on Crown land close to the Maribyrnong River. Leased to the Victoria Turf Club which soon became Victoria Racing Club, they took legal control of the track in 1871. Already, the Melbourne Cup was proving a big hit.
Archer won the first two runnings of the race. This feat of winning the Melbourne Cup multiple times has been achieved by four other horses since. It was moved to its current slot of the first Tuesday in November in 1875. Bookmakers were licensed at Flemington for this big race for the first time seven years later.
Starting stalls with gates for the horses to jump out from were introduced in 1958, replacing them simply walking up to a tape pulled across the track. It wasn’t until 1993 that a racehorse trained in the Northern Hemisphere won the Melbourne Cup. After that breakthrough international success for Irish trainer Dermot Weld, he won it again in 2002. The first horse trained in mainland Europe, Americain from France, triumphed in 2010.
Bart Cummings holds the record for training most Melbourne Cup winners after saddling 12 to victory in a storied career. Lloyd Williams is the winningest owner of the race after seven of his horses emerged victorious at Flemington.
Since three-time winner Makybe Diva completed her historic hat-trick in 2005, only one favourite in the Melbourne Cup betting has obliged. Other famous race winners include Vintage Crop, the first trained outside of Australia and New Zealand to achieve victory in 1993. Four horses have won the Melbourne Cup twice: Archer (1861 and 1862), Peter Pan (1932 and 1934), Rain Lover (1968 and 1969), and Think Big (1974 and 1975). Cross Counter broke Britain’s long-standing hoodoo in this event when he delivered in 2018.
As past winners of the Melbourne Cup race show, there has been more overseas success in recent years. Racehorses trained in Australia only won half of the 10 editions of the race during the 2010s. Foreign owners are attracted to the Melbourne Cup because of the prize money, and how difficult it is for the Victoria Racing Club to handicap their horses vis-a-vis domestic ones. Here is the list of Melbourne Cup race winners since 2000:
2020: Twilight Payment (Ireland)
2019: Vow And Declare (Australia)
2018: Cross Counter (UK)
2017: Rekindling (Ireland)
2016: Almandin (Australia)
2015: Prince Of Penzance (Australia)
2014: Protectionist (Germany)
2013: Fiorente (Australia)
2012: Green Moon (Australia)
2011: Dunaden (France)
2010: Americain (France)
2009: Shocking (Australia)
2008: Viewed (Australia)
2007: Efficient (Australia)
2006: Delta Blues (Japan)
2005: Makybe Diva (Australia)
2004: Makybe Diva (Australia)
2003: Makybe Diva (Australia)
2002: Media Puzzle (Ireland)
2001: Ethereal (New Zealand)
2000: Brew (Australia)
Melbourne Cup Betting FAQs
🏆 How do I bet on the Melbourne Cup?
It may take some thinking before you decide upon what your Melbourne Cup bet is going to be this year. Many horses are in with chances of winning or at least running well. Equating form across countries and even Hemispheres is tricky for bettors. What you need is some sound horse betting strategy on one hand and the best betting sites for Melbourne Cup gambling to place your wager on the other. This may involve hedging your bets or Dutching two or more horses in the large field of runners.
❓ What is the best bet for the Melbourne Cup?
There are many different forms of Melbourne Cup bet to consider. Who is to say which is best? It all depends on what sort of bettor you are. Some like to wager on dark horses who could improve on all known form and outrun their odds. Others prefer backing tried and tested favourites. Whoever you side with in the Melbourne Cup, it is well worth looking out for horse racing betting tips on Australia’s most famous race. See who the experts fancy and use it as a guide to any Melbourne Cup betting you do.
💻 Can you bet on the Melbourne Cup online?
With a race as world-famous as this, placing a Melbourne Cup bet can happen in a variety of ways. You have plenty of options here. From regular fixed odds sportsbooks and national Tote pool wagering services like TAB, there are even exchange markets on Betfair to consider for your Melbourne Cup betting fancies. All of these ways to wager are available through online and mobile platforms thanks to the digital revolution which has completely changed the way that we gamble over the last 20 years.
🔢 Does 4th place pay on the Melbourne Cup?
The Melbourne Cup race is a big field handicap that holds Group 1 status and is targeted by top Flat turf thoroughbred racehorses. What that means, in other words, is this event has lots of international interest in it. There are always many entries. The maximum field allowed to race at Flemington here is 24. You should be looking for a Melbourne Cup bet each-way, then, especially one at high odds and through an online bookmaker paying extra places.
🏇 What horses have won the Melbourne Cup?
Since it was first run in 1861, there have obviously been a lot of winners of the Melbourne Cup race down the years. The profile of successful horses have never really been fixed. Trends come and go, but ultimately the best handicapped horse will win. This is something that the best betting sites for Melbourne Cup wagering know and understand. It’s a wide-open race and the horse racing odds they offer should reflect that. Horses from the British Isles, Europe and Japan are on this event’s illustrious roll of honour, proving its significance to the global sport of horse racing.
