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Mugs guide to Melbourne Cup betting

The Melbourne Cup is the one day on the racing calendar where the hardcore punter and the first-timer come together to enjoy the thoroughbred action and have a sneaky bet.

These days you don’t have to waste your time lining up at the pub, and if you sign up at an online bookmaker you can place your Cup punt from the couch.

If you’re new to the game, or just don’t know how to bet on the race that stops a nation, you have come to the right place.

This mugs guide to betting on the Melbourne Cup will give you everything you need to make some cash on the world’s richest staying race.


Melbourne Cup best bookmakers

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Melbourne Cup 2024 results & dividends

Place No. Colours Horse Trainer Jockey Win Place
1st 11 Knight's Choice silks
Knight’s Choice
John Symons & Sheila Laxon
Robbie Dolan
$91 $17.80
2nd 4 Warp Speed
Warp Speed
Noboru Takagi
Akira Sugawara
$9.30
3rd 12 Okita Soushi silks
Okita Soushi
Ciaron Maher
Jamie Kah
$4.80
4th 14 Zardozi silks
Zardozi
James Cummings
Andrea Atzeni
Quinella $887.80 Trifecta $22,576.80 First Four $728,015.70

2024 Melbourne Cup finishing order

Place No. Colours Horse Trainer Jockey Odds Margin
1st 11 Knight's Choice silks Knight’s Choice Johny Symons & Sheila Laxon Robbie Dolan $91
2nd 4 Warp Speed silks Warp Speed Noboru Takagi Akira Sugawara $26 0.1L
3rd 12 Okita Soushi silks Okita Soushi Ciaron Maher Jamie Kah $19 0.85L
4th 14 Zardozi silks Zardozi James Cummings Andrea Atzeni $14 1.3L
5th 9 Absurde Absurde Willow Mullins Kerrin McEvoy $10 1.71L
6th 3 Circle Of Fire Circle Of Fire Ciaron Maher Mark Zahra $21 2.71L
7th 17 Fancy Man silks Fancy Man Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald Ron Stewart $81 2.86L
8th 8 Land Legend silks Land Legend Chris Waller Zac Purton $15 3.32L
9th 2 Buckaroo silks Buckaroo Chris Waller Joao Moreira $6 3.52L
10th 5 Kovalica Kovalica Chris Waller Damian Lane $26 4.27L
11th 1 Vauban Vauban Willie Mullins William Buick $8 5.02L
12th 13 Onesmoothoperator silks Onesmoothoperator Brian Ellison Craig Williams $7 5.42L
13th 16 Valiant King silks Valiant King Chris Waller Craig Newitt $91 5.52L
14th 15 Sea King silks Sea King Harry Eustace Hollie Doyle $12 6.02L
15th 18 Interpretation silks Interpretation Ciaron Maher Teo Nugent $21 7.77L
16th 6 Sharp 'N' Smart silks Sharp ‘N’ Smart Graeme & Deborah Rogerson Michael Dee $51 9.52L
17th 24 Trust In You silks Trust In You Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley Mark Du Plessis $71 9.98L
18th 20 Mostly Cloudy silks Mostly Cloudy Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Karis Teetan $91 10.98L
19th 19 Manzoice silks Manzoice Chris Waller Declan Bates $101 13.23L
20th 21 Positivity silks Positivity Andrew Forsman Winona Costin $101 13.63L
21st 23 The Map silks The Map Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray Rachel King $71 14.09L
22nd 22 Saint George silks Saint George Ciaron Maher Tyler Schiller $26 15.34L
23rd 7 Just Fine silks Just Fine Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Jye McNeil $31 25.34L
Scr 10 Athabascan silks Athabascan John O’Shea & Tom Charlton Zac Lloyd Scr Scr

2024 Melbourne Cup field & race odds

No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Odds
1 Vauban silks Vauban Willie Mullins William Buick 11 55.5kg +500
2 Buckaroo silks Buckaroo Chris Walle Joao Moreira 21 54.5kg +400
3 Circle Of Fire silks Circle Of Fire Ciaron Maher Mark Zahra 24 54.5kg +3300
4 Warp Speed silks Warp Speed Noboru Takagi Akira Sugawara 3 54.5kg +4000
5 Kovalica silks Kovalica Chris Waller Damian Lane 17 53.5kg +2500
6 Sharp N Smart silks Sharp ‘N’ Smart Graeme & Deborah Rogerson Michael Dee 15 53.5kg +7000
7 Just Fine silks Just Fine Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Jye McNeil 13 53kg +3300
8 Land Legend silks Land Legend Chris Waller Zac Purton 18 53kg +2000
9 Absurde silks Absurde Willie Mullins Kerrin McEvoy 7 52.5kg +1000
10 Athabascan silks Athabascan John O’Shea & Tom Charlton Zac Lloyd 2 52kg +4000
11 Knight's Choice silks Knight’s Choice John Symons & Sheila Laxon Robbie Dolan 6 51.5kg +15000
12 Okita Soushi silks Okita Soushi Ciaron Maher Jamie Kah 10 51kg +1600
13 Onesmoothoperator silks Onesmoothoperator Brian Ellison Craig Williams 12 51kg +700
14 Zardozi silks Zardozi James Cummings Andrea Atzeni 4 51kg +1300
15 Sea King silks Sea King Harry Eustace Hollie Doyle 1 50.5kg +850
16 Valiant King silks Valiant King Chris Waller Craig Newitt 22 50.5kg +6000
17 Fancy Man silks Fancy Man Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald Ron Stewart 19 50kg +10000
18 Interpretation silks Interpretation Ciaron Maher Teo Nugent 14 50kg +1800
19 Manzoice Silks Manzoice Chris Waller Declan Bates 8 50kg +8000
20 Mostly Cloudy silks Mostly Cloudy Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Karis Teetan 16 50kg +10000
21 Positivity silks Positivity Andrew Forsman Winona Costin 20 50kg +10000
22 Saint George Silks Saint George Ciaron Maher Tyler Schiller 9 50kg +3300
23 The Map silks The Map Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray Rachel King 23 50kg +2500
24 Trust In You silks Trust In You Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley Mark Du Plessis 5 50kg +15000

2024 Melbourne Cup order of entry

The Melbourne Cup order of entry is a complete ranking list of all nominated runners based on their results since February 1 of the previous year. Horses can earn automatic entry into the final field by winning certain designated races, including The Bart Cummings, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate.

Order Horse Age Weight Trainer
Melbourne Cup ballot exempt horses as of October 30, 2024: 2
Exempt Just Fine (IRE)
7
53kg
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
Exempt The Map
6
50kg
Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray
Passed 2024 Melbourne Cup ballot clause as of October 30, 2024: 25
3 Vauban (FR)
7
55.5kg
Willie Mullins
4 Circle Of Fire (GB)
5
54.5kg
Ciaron Maher
5 Buckaroo (GB)
6
54.5kg
Chris Waller
6 Warp Speed (JPN)
6
54.5kg
Noboru Takagi
7 Zardozi
4
51.5kg
James Cummings
8 Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ)
5
53.5kg
Graeme & Deborah Rogerson
9 Kovalica (NZ)
5
53.5kg
Chris Waller
10 Land Legend (FR)
5
53kg
Chris Waller
11 Absurde (FR)
7
52.5kg
Willie Mullins
12 Athabascan (FR)
6
52kg
John O’Shea & Tom Charlton
13 Mahrajaan (USA)
7
52kg
Shaune Ritchie & Colm Murray
14 Knight’s Choice
5
51.5kg
John Symons & Sheila Laxon
15 Okita Soushi (IRE)
7
51kg
Ciaron Maher
16 Onesmoothoperator (USA)
7
51kg
Brian Ellison
17 Sea King (GB)
6
50.5kg
Harry Eustace
18 Valiant King (GB)
5
50.5kg
Chris Waller
19 Interpretation (IRE)
7
50kg
Ciaron Maher
20 Fancy Man (IRE)
7
50kg
Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald
21 Mostly Cloudy (IRE)
6
50kg
Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young
22 Positivity (NZ)
4
50kg
Andrew Forsman
23 Mission Of Love
5
50kg
John Symons & Sheila Laxon
24 Trust In You (NZ)
6
50kg
Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley
25 Saint George (GB)
5
50kg
Ciaron Maher
26 Manzoice
5
50kg
Chris Waller
27 Kinesiology (GB)
4
50kg
Jessica Harrington
Not Passed Melbourne Cup first ballot clause as of October 30, 2024: 2
28 Francesco Guardi (IRE)
7
52kg
Chris Waller
29 Waltham (GB)
5
50kg
Matthew Smith

Previous Melbourne Cup results


Where can I place a bet on the Melbourne Cup?

If you are like us, you have no interest in standing in line for hours on end just to get a chance to place a Melbourne Cup bet down at your local pub.

That’s where the advent of smartphones has helped punters. All the bookmakers below have both optimised for mobile betting and all our recommended bookmakers have betting apps that can be downloaded for easy access to Melbourne Cup markets.

Click on any of the banners below to read our comprehensive reviews of each bookmaker to choose which one is right for you ahead of the Melbourne Cup.

Could our exclusive Neds bonus be what you need? Click on the reviews to find out.


When is the 2024 Melbourne Cup?

The Melbourne Cup is always held on the first Tuesday of November at Flemington Racecourse. In 2024, the race that stops a nation is on November 5. The Cup is usually scheduled as the seventh race on the card, and this year it is set to jump at 3pm AEDT.


Who is the 2024 Melbourne Cup favourite?

As of November 4, the 2024 Melbourne Cup betting favourites are:

Complete Melbourne Cup odds available at Neds


What kind of bets can you place on the Melbourne Cup?

When it comes to betting on the horses the only real limitation these days is your own imagination.

Click on the drop boxes below to quickly catch-up on the most popular Melbourne Cup racing betting options:


Are there other races I can bet upon on Melbourne Cup Day?

Yes, there are.

Melbourne Cup Day is one of the busiest times of the year at Flemington, with 10 races for punters to have a bet on.

The first race on the card kicks off just before midday and the final race isn’t until close to 6pm AEDT, so there are plenty of opportunities to invest on that first Tuesday in November.


What else do you need to know before putting on your Melbourne Cup bet?

Outside of selecting your bet type, the rest is up to you.

Many first-timers like to choose a horse based on the jockey’s silk colour, while others enjoy taking a look at the name of the horse and basing their bet on that. Often there are patterns and coincidences that seem to be reflected in race results of certain Cup races, and the Melbourne Cup is no different. Read our guide on Melbourne Cup statistics guide to get a better understanding of factors that can help you find the Cup winner.

Melbourne Cup Happy punting!

If you are looking to make a more informed decision, the odds you get on each horse are a good indication. If a horse is paying less to win, it means in general there is a greater likelihood that elect will run well.

If you are looking to delve even further, you can read the form guide, which bookmakers like Betfair provide free of charge. Simply click or tap on your selected horse and you can see how it has gone in its most recent races.

Outside of that, our advice is to have fun and enjoy what is one of the world’s greatest horse races.

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