Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup

Horse RacingMelbourne Cup

The 2022 Melbourne Cup is fast approaching as horse racing fans around the country await ‘The Race That Stops a Nation’ to be held again on Tuesday, November 1. The world’s richest handicap will highlight a fabulous week of racing at Flemington Racecourse.

History of the Race

The first Melbourne Cup was first run in 1861 and was created by Victorian Turf Club member Frederick Standish, who first came up with the idea of running a horse race that would be named the Melbourne Cup. Seventeen horses would compete in the first race for a prize of 17 gold sovereigns and a gold watch in a winner-take-all format. A crowd of 4,000 spectators watched as a stallion named Archer, ridden by John Cutts, would finish first in a time of 3:52:00.

Melbourne Cup Day is a holiday for workers in the city’s metropolitan area and some other parts of Victoria, except for those towns holding spring carnivals themselves. However, some people outside Melbourne take time off to celebrate the occasion, with many thinking it should become a national holiday.

The race has undergone many changes through the years, the most notable being the entry of horses trained outside Australia. Comedy King was the first foreign-bred horse to win the Melbourne Cup in 1910. Fourteen more international horses would go on to win the race in the event’s history.

Race Information

• Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2022
• Race Time: 3:00 PM
• Racecourse: Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Distance: 3.2 KM (19.2 miles)
• Purse: $7,750,000
• Track Status: Turf

Records

• Record winning time: 3:16:30 by Kingston Rule in 1990
• Most wins by a horse: Three by Makybe Diva in 2003, 2004, and 2005
• Most jockey wins: Four each by Bobbie Lewis and Harry White
• Biggest winning margin: Eight lengths by Archer in 1862 and Rain Lover in 1968
• Highest Attendance: 122,736 in 2003

Last Five Winners

• 2021: Verry Elleegant
• 2020: Twilight Payment
• 2019: Vow and Declare
• 2018: Cross Counter
• 2017: Rekindling

Bart Cummings holds the record for the most wins by a trainer with 12. The first was in 1965, and his most recent was in 2008.

How to Win At Horse Racing

Horse racing is unlike other popular sports, with most people interested in betting on the event rather than watching it for the excitement of the race. In Melbourne Cup betting, most fans aren’t interested in the outcome but bet mainly on the social entertainment it offers. However, for those bettors serious about winning, there is some strategy involved that will help increase overall profits.

Racing forms give fans everything they need to know about Melbourne Cup odds and the horses competing. They are typically organized by the number they’ll wear for the race, with another number in parenthesis indicating their starting position.

The guide will also list the horse’s performance in recent races. Melbourne Cup betting fans should pay attention to the number of races the horse has run recently. If it’s a low number, it’s always a good idea to find out why the horse has been inactive. Those horses that consistently finished in the top three are usually the most likely to win.

The racing form will also have each horse’s jockey and trainer names. It’s recommended to do some quick research about any horse trainer that might be picked as the winner. The trainer’s win record is usually a good indicator of the horse’s probability of finishing in the money, with those horses generally having the lowest Melbourne Cup odds.