{ "id": "epc3scvd9t", "slug": "melbourne-cup", "title": "Melbourne Cup", "updated": "2026-10-21", "topic_path": [ { "id": "play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play" }, { "id": "play.individual", "label": "Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual" }, { "id": "play.individual.equestrian", "label": "Equestrian and animal sports", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.equestrian" }, { "id": "play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing", "label": "Horse racing", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing" }, { "id": "play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing.races", "label": "Horse races and classifications", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing.races" }, { "id": "play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing.races.flat", "label": "Flat races", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing.races.flat" }, { "id": "play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing.races.flat.flat_australia", "label": "Flat races of Australia", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing.races.flat.flat_australia" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.other.t1800.play.individual.equestrian", "label": "Other (Canada, Oceania, polar regions, oceans) · 1800 to 1945: Equestrian and animal sports", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.other.t1800.play.individual.equestrian", "path": [ { "id": "geo.other", "label": "Other (Canada, Oceania, polar regions, oceans)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.other" }, { "id": "geo.other.t1800", "label": "Other (Canada, Oceania, polar regions, oceans) · 1800 to 1945", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.other.t1800" }, { "id": "geo.other.t1800.play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.other.t1800.play" }, { "id": "geo.other.t1800.play.individual", "label": "Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.other.t1800.play.individual" }, { "id": "geo.other.t1800.play.individual.equestrian", "label": "Equestrian and animal sports", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.other.t1800.play.individual.equestrian" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Melbourne Cup, 'the race that stops a nation', Australian Group 1 3200m Thoroughbred handicap at Flemington, first Tuesday of November, first run 1861, $10 million, won 2025 by Half Yours.", "snippet": "Melbourne Cup, 'the race that stops a nation', Australian Group 1 3200m Thoroughbred handicap at Flemington, first Tuesday of November, first run 1861, $10 million, won 2025 by Half Yours.", "node": "play.individual.equestrian.eq.racing.races.flat.flat_australia", "markdown": "# Melbourne Cup\n\nThe **Melbourne Cup** is a Group 1 [Thoroughbred](https://www.edgepedia.org/thoroughbred) handicap horse race run over 3,200 meters at [Flemington Racecourse](https://www.edgepedia.org/flemington-racecourse) in Melbourne, Australia, on the first Tuesday of November each year. Nicknamed \"the race that stops a nation\", it is worth $10,000,000 in prize money and is open to horses aged three years and older.[1](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/group-1-honour-board/) First run on 7 November 1861, it is one of the world's few major handicap races, in which each horse is allocated a different weight according to its age and previous form.[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Distance and class | 3,200 meters, Group 1 handicap for 3YO+, run at Flemington Racecourse[1](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/group-1-honour-board/) |\n| First run | Thursday, 7 November 1861; won by Archer before a crowd of about 4,000[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup) |\n| Prize money | $10,000,000[1](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/group-1-honour-board/) |\n| Date | First Tuesday of November, a practice introduced in 1875[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup) |\n| Most successful trainer | Bart Cummings, a record 12 winners between 1965 and 2008, including five quinellas[3](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/2026-lexus-melbourne-cup-golden-ticket-entry/) |\n| Most successful horse | Makybe Diva, three consecutive wins in 2003, 2004, and 2005[4](https://www.racingaustralia.horse/FreeFields/RaceHistory.aspx?GroupID=1) |\n| Track record (3,200 m) | Kingston Rule (USA), 3:16.30, 6 November 1990[5](https://www.vrc.com.au/racing/track-records-and-attendances/) |\n| Most recent winner | Half Yours (2025), jockey Jamie Melham, trainers Tony & Calvin McEvoy, 53 kg, 3:22.46[4](https://www.racingaustralia.horse/FreeFields/RaceHistory.aspx?GroupID=1) |\n\n## Origins and early history\n\nThe Cup was conceived by the Victoria Turf Club, one of two bodies then controlling racing in Victoria alongside the Victoria Jockey Club, as a handicap over two miles with a rich prize. The Turf Club hoped the greater uncertainty of a handicap would attract more entries and higher prize money, and in this it succeeded.[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup)\n\nThe inaugural race on 7 November 1861 drew about 4,000 spectators. Fifty-seven horses were listed but only 17 started. Archer, a [New South Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-south-wales) horse trained by Etienne de Mestre, won by six lengths in 3 minutes 52 seconds, a time that remains the slowest on record. Two horses died after falling in the race.[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup) • [6](https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/melbournecup) The two rival clubs merged in March 1864 to form the Victoria Racing Club, which has controlled racing in Victoria, including the Melbourne Cup, ever since; the Victoria Racing Club Act of 1871 gave the club control of Flemington and authority over race meetings across the state.[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup) • [7](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/)\n\nThe race moved to a Tuesday in 1875, coinciding with a public holiday. Attendance grew quickly: about 20,000 people attended in 1870 and an estimated 100,000 by 1880.[6](https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/melbournecup) When Australia adopted the metric system, the distance was shortened by a bit over 18 meters so the race is now run over 3,200 meters rather than two miles.[8](https://www.nma.gov.au/audio/behind-the-scenes-landmarks-series/transcripts/the-melbourne-cup-150-years)\n\n## The race today\n\nThe Cup is the centerpiece of the four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival, which also includes Howden Victoria Derby Day, Crown Oaks Day, and TAB Champions Stakes Day.[9](https://www.vrc.com.au/) The Victoria Racing Club hosts 21 race days at Flemington over the season, including 10 Group 1 race days.[10](https://www.vrc.com.au/racing/race-programs-and-conditions/) Entry pathways include the Lexus Bart Cummings Golden Ticket, a race named for the champion trainer and established by the VRC in his honor in 2004 as a stepping stone to the Cup.[3](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/2026-lexus-melbourne-cup-golden-ticket-entry/)\n\n**Handicap conditions.** Weights are set by a handicapper, with the highest-weighted horse carrying number 1. In April 2025, Racing Victoria, together with the Melbourne Racing Club and the VRC, announced changes to the weight scale for the 2025 [Caulfield Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/caulfield-cup) and Lexus Melbourne Cup following an extensive review of the conditions of the two handicap races.[11](https://www.racingvictoria.com.au/news/2025/04/09/changes-to-weight-scale-for-caulfield-and-melbourne-cups)\n\nThe 2025 running was won by Half Yours, a five-year-old gelding by St Jean (IRE) carrying 53 kg, ridden by Jamie Melham for trainers Tony & Calvin McEvoy in a time of 3:22.46 before a field of 24.[1](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/group-1-honour-board/) • [4](https://www.racingaustralia.horse/FreeFields/RaceHistory.aspx?GroupID=1) The 2024 edition was won by Knight's Choice (51.5 kg, Robbie Dolan, trainers John Symons & Sheila Laxon, 3:19.53).[4](https://www.racingaustralia.horse/FreeFields/RaceHistory.aspx?GroupID=1)\n\n## Records and notable winners\n\n**Carbine** carried 65.77 kg to victory in 1890, the heaviest weight ever carried to a Cup win.[7](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/) The fastest time over the current 3,200-meter course is Kingston Rule's 3:16.30 in 1990.[5](https://www.vrc.com.au/racing/track-records-and-attendances/)\n\n**Makybe Diva** (GB) won three consecutive Cups from 2003 to 2005 under three different weight assignments (51 kg, 55.5 kg, and 58 kg), ridden each time by Glen Boss.[4](https://www.racingaustralia.horse/FreeFields/RaceHistory.aspx?GroupID=1) Her first win in 2003 came before an official attendance of 122,736, a record that stood until the Derby Day crowd of 129,089 in 2006.[5](https://www.vrc.com.au/racing/track-records-and-attendances/)\n\n**Bart Cummings** trained 12 winners between 1965, when Light Fingers took his first, and 2008, when Viewed won his twelfth.[3](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/2026-lexus-melbourne-cup-golden-ticket-entry/) • [7](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/) In 1993 Vintage Crop became the first internationally trained horse to win the race, opening the way for the strong international participation of later decades.[7](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/) In 2015 [Michelle Payne](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelle-payne) rode Prince of Penzance (NZ) to victory, and the breeches she wore that day are held by the National Museum of Australia.[4](https://www.racingaustralia.horse/FreeFields/RaceHistory.aspx?GroupID=1) • [2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup)\n\nOther milestones include 1985, when the Cup became Australia's first million-dollar race, and 2010, when Flemington celebrated the 150th running.[7](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/)\n\n## Cultural and economic significance\n\nThe race has been a public holiday in Victoria since the 1870s, when founding secretary Robert Cooper Bagot lobbied the state government successfully for the designation.[7](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/) [Mark Twain](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-twain), visiting in 1895, wrote: \"Nowhere in the world have I encountered a festival of people that has such a magnificent appeal to the whole nation. The Cup astonishes me.\"[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup) Flemington also stages the Fashions on the Field competition, first held in 1962.[7](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/)\n\nThe Carnival is a major economic event. Research by the market research company Quantum credited the Carnival with a record $533 million boost to the Victorian economy, with Lexus Melbourne Cup Day alone driving an $848 million uplift to the national economy, a 6 percent year-on-year increase, and reaching 7.4 million [Australians](https://www.edgepedia.org/australians). A record 71,690 visitors traveled to Victoria specifically for the Carnival.[12](https://www.vrc.com.au/latest-news/melbourne-cup-carnival-delivers-record-533-million-economic-boost-to-victoria/) The VRC's 2024/2025 annual report recorded 415,688 attendees across 21 meetings at Flemington, wagering turnover of $1.53 billion, and prize money of $61.77 million for the season.[13](https://www.vrc.com.au/media/dk0eieyw/vrc0008-2025-annual-report-online_compressed.pdf)\n\n## Horse welfare\n\nThe race has been marked by recurring fatalities. The death of The Cliffsofmoher in the 2018 Cup prompted Australian researchers to investigate whether international horses that travel to Australia for the race face a higher risk of injury.[14](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-08/melbourne-cup-race-deaths-research-risks-international-horses/10473316) The death of Anthony Van Dyck in 2020 was the seventh at the Melbourne Cup in as many years, and a subsequent Racing Victoria review found the stallion's fatal fractures may have been avoidable, leading to pre-race scans for all Cup horses.[15](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-28/racing-victoria-melbourne-cup-injury-report-melbourne-cup/100100374) Horses killed in the race since 2013 include Verema, Admire Rakti, Araldo, Red Cadeaux, Regal Monarch, The Cliffsofmoher, and Anthony Van Dyck.[16](https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/hp/housepaper/31042/D260211.139.pdf) The Guardian reported that for more than 30 years before that period, no horse had died in the Melbourne Cup.[17](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/oct/30/melbourne-cup-the-race-that-warrants-some-uncomfortable-ethical-arithmetic) Welfare concerns have generated public protests under the banner \"Nup to the Cup\".[2](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Group 1 Honour Board, Victoria Racing Club](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/group-1-honour-board/)\n2. [First Melbourne Cup, National Museum of Australia](https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup)\n3. [Golden Ticket Entry, Lexus Melbourne Cup 2026, Victoria Racing Club](https://vrc-prod-cdn-cxdkhbhwgvh3e0g5.z01.azurefd.net/racing/2026-lexus-melbourne-cup-golden-ticket-entry/)\n4. [Registered Race History: Melbourne Cup, Racing Australia](https://www.racingaustralia.horse/FreeFields/RaceHistory.aspx?GroupID=1)\n5. [Track records and attendances, Victoria Racing Club](https://www.vrc.com.au/racing/track-records-and-attendances/)\n6. [Horse racing and the Melbourne Cup, State Library Victoria research guide](https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/melbournecup)\n7. [The history of the VRC, Victoria Racing Club](https://www.vrc.com.au/about-vrc/the-history-of-the-vrc/)\n8. [The Melbourne Cup: 150 years of history, National Museum of Australia](https://www.nma.gov.au/audio/behind-the-scenes-landmarks-series/transcripts/the-melbourne-cup-150-years)\n9. [Flemington, Victoria Racing Club](https://www.vrc.com.au/)\n10. [Race Dates and Conditions, Victoria Racing Club](https://www.vrc.com.au/racing/race-programs-and-conditions/)\n11. [Changes to weight scale for Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, Racing Victoria](https://www.racingvictoria.com.au/news/2025/04/09/changes-to-weight-scale-for-caulfield-and-melbourne-cups)\n12. [Melbourne Cup Carnival delivers record $533 million economic boost to Victoria, VRC](https://www.vrc.com.au/latest-news/melbourne-cup-carnival-delivers-record-533-million-economic-boost-to-victoria/)\n13. [VRC 2024/2025 Annual Report](https://www.vrc.com.au/media/dk0eieyw/vrc0008-2025-annual-report-online_compressed.pdf)\n14. [Melbourne Cup: Researchers investigate effects of travel on international horses, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-08/melbourne-cup-race-deaths-research-risks-international-horses/10473316)\n15. [Scans for all Melbourne Cup horses after review finds Anthony Van Dyck's fatal fractures may have been avoidable, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-28/racing-victoria-melbourne-cup-injury-report-melbourne-cup/100100374)\n16. [NSW Legislative Council Notice Paper No. 139](https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/hp/housepaper/31042/D260211.139.pdf)\n17. [Melbourne Cup: the race that warrants some uncomfortable ethical arithmetic, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/oct/30/melbourne-cup-the-race-that-warrants-some-uncomfortable-ethical-arithmetic)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Equestrian and animal sports › Horse racing › Horse races and classifications › Flat races › Flat races of Australia*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cup", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cup.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Melbourne Cup\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cup. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Melbourne Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cup)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cup). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Melbourne Cup\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cup. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Melbourne Cup, 'the race that stops a nation', Australian Group 1 3200m Thoroughbred handicap at Flemington, first Tuesday of November, first run 1861, $10 million, won 2025 by Half Yours." }