How to place a wager on the race that stops the nation: Melbourne Cup betting guide for dummies

So you want to get involved in the Melbourne Cup but you don’t know anything about it. We’re not sure how that’s possible if you live in Australia, but sure, let’s go with it.

Well, while you’re enjoying The Race That Stops The Nation and maybe even a public holiday depending on where you live, you may be interested in having a flutter on it.

If you’re going to bet, do so responsibly; and here’s how you’d do it.

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WHAT IS THE MELBOURNE CUP?

It’s a horse race, that includes 24 horses (although sometimes fewer if they are withdrawn, aka ‘scratched’ – that’s not usually literal) trying to be the fastest around a 3200-metre trip of Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne’s inner northwest.

If they are the fastest, they earn $4.5 million for their owner, trainer and jockey. The horse does not get the money as horses have no need to barter for goods and services.

Each horse has odds based on how likely the betting public and bookmakers believe they are to win. The horse viewed as most likely to win has the smallest odds; ie if you bet a dollar, you might only get a few back, rather than a couple of hundred.

It happens at 3pm on the first Tuesday in November – this year, that’s November 4. It’s on the telly (Channel 9). And the internet.

\Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 05, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Race 7. The Melbourne Cup. Winner Knights Choice ridden by Robbie Dolan (green cap) fights out the finish with 2nd placed Warp Speed ridden by Akira Sugawara to win the Melbourne cup by half a head . Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia

HOW DO I BET?

First, you need to pick your horse.

There are a couple of tried-and-true methods. One is to have a mate who follows horse racing; then you can blame them when their pick loses.

Another is to look at the colours and names and pick your favourites. Maybe your horse’s jockey will look like he’s playing for your footy team, or you’re a fan of their weird and wacky names.

Or you could try and analyse the form guide – you know, that confusing bit with all of the tiny writing in the middle of the paper? No, not the real estate listings. Or the classifieds. The other part.

There’ll be plenty of information in there about how the horses have gone recently. It might not make sense to you though, so you might just want to look at the column with the odds and find the smallest number.

Once you’ve picked your horse, you need to place your bet.

They have the internet on computers now, and even telephones, so you can sign up to a betting website and put some money on that way from the safety of your living room.

You can also take the traditional morning trip to the local betting house.

Once you get there – and you’ll want to get there early – you can ask one of the operators there to help you out or fill out one of the cards. They’ll have Melbourne Cup-specific ones which make it nice and simple.

You can also place bets in person at the track though to be honest, if you’re literally at the Melbourne Cup, you probably don’t need us to explain what the Melbourne Cup is.

First woman to win the Caulfield Cup! | 00:56

WHAT KINDS OF BETS ARE THERE?

The simplest bet is a win bet. In those, you only make money if your horse comes first.

You can also bet on a horse to ‘place’ – that means if they finish in the top three, you win, but at less lucrative odds than with the win bet.

Then you can get exotic. There are quinellas (first two in any order), exactas (first two in order), trifectas (first three in any order) and first fours (first … you can probably guess this one).

For example in 2019, the dividends for those bet types were as follows: The quinella paid $82.40, the exacta paid $175, the trifecta paid $2,953.40 and the first four paid $79,381.40.

Of course, those numbers also reflect how difficult it is to tip them, so don’t expect to just randomly win $80k.

Hot favourite too strong in Everest! | 01:49

SO… GOT A TIP FOR WHO’LL WIN?

Nope.

But our experts will, eventually, once the field for the race is confirmed.

At that point you’ll be able to see the horses involved below, with the number they’ll be wearing during the race (No.4 has won the most times with 13), their barrier (barriers 5 and 11 have won eight times each), their jockey and the weight they’ll be carrying (heavier = slower, that’s just physics).

The latter is important because it’s a handicap race; the horses seen to be in the best form are given extra weight to punish them.

The average weight of a winner is around 54kg so you probably want a horse roughly a third of the way down the list?

The current favourites are Al Riffa ($5.50), Half Yours ($6) and Valiant King ($7).

But there’s one really important factor to keep in mind – the favourite doesn’t always win. It actually hasn’t happened since 2013, and the favourite has only finished on the podium four times since 2006.

The last two favourites finished 9th and 14th respectively, and the average odds of the winner this century are $19. So feel free to pick a dark horse! (Literally or figurately, we suppose.)

2025 MELBOURNE CUP FIELD

Entry list as of Tuesday October 21

Ballot Order – Horse – Trainer/s – Weight

1= HALF YOURS Tony & Calvin McEvoy 53kg

1= DEAKIN (FR) Phillip Stokes 52kg

1= PARCHMENT PARTY (USA) William Mott 52kg

1= REVELARE Robert Hickmott 51.5kg

1= VALIANT KING (GB) Chris Waller 51kg

6 AL RIFFA (FR) Joseph O’Brien 59kg

7 BUCKAROO (GB) Chris Waller 57kg

8 ARAPAHO (FR) Bjorn Baker 56.5kg

9 VAUBAN (FR) Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 56.5kg

10 CHEVALIER ROSE (JPN) Hisashi Shimizu 55.5kg

11 PRESAGE NOCTURNE (IRE) Alessandro Botti 55.5kg

12 FURTHUR (IRE) Andrew Balding 52kg

13 MIDDLE EARTH (GB) Ciaron Maher 54.5kg

14 ZARDOZI Ciaron Maher 52.5kg

15 MEYDAAN (IRE) Simon & Ed Crisford 54kg

16 LAND LEGEND (FR) Chris Waller 53.5kg

17 SMOKIN’ ROMANS (NZ) Ciaron Maher 53.5kg

18 ABSURDE (FR) Willie Mullins 53.5kg

19 FLATTEN THE CURVE (FR) Henk Grewe 53.5kg

20 RIVER OF STARS (IRE) Chris Waller 51.5kg

21 MORE FELONS (IRE) Chris Waller 53kg

22 GOODIE TWO SHOES (IRE) Joseph O’Brien 51.5kg

23 CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD (IRE) Kris Lees 53kg

24 ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (USA) Brian Ellison 52kg

25 ATHABASCAN (FR) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton 51.5kg

26 POINT KING (IRE) Anthony & Sam Freedman 51.5kg

27 ROYAL SUPREMACY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg

28 MARK TWAIN (NZ) Roger James & Robert Wellwood 51kg

29 BIRDMAN (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg

30 POST IMPRESSIONIST (IRE) Anthony & Sam Freedman 51kg

31 SCARY (NZ) Emma-Lee & David Browne 51kg

32 TRAV (NZ) Raymond Connors 51kg

33 ETNA ROSSO (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg

34 BRAYDEN STAR (GB) Busuttin & Young 51kg

35 GRAND PIERRO Jason Warren 51kg

36 WHISKY ON THE HILL (GB) Glen Thompson 51kg

37 INTERPRETATION (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg

38 DON DIEGO DE VEGA (FR) Annabel & Rob Archibald 51kg

39 SAYEDATY SADATY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg

40 TORRANZINO (NZ) Paul Preusker 51kg

41 GILDED WATER (GB) Ciaron Maher 51kg

42 FERNAO (IRE) Annabel & Rob Archibald 51kg

43 GOLDEN SNAP (JPN) Katsunori Tanaka 51.5kg

44 ADELAIDE RIVER (IRE) Kris Lees 52kg

45= CLEVELAND (IRE) Kris Lees 51kg

45= DASHING DUCHESS (NZ) Symon Wilde 51kg

45= KINGS VALLEY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg

45= QUIETNESS (GB) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton 51kg

45= SO YOU ARE Stirling Osland 51kg

45= STAR OF INDIA (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg