horse racing info

Melbourne Cup Carnival

The 2021 Melbourne Cup Carnival features four days of exciting racing at Flemington racecourse in Melbourne, highlighted by the Melbourne Cup!

The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) administers racing at Flemington, and Melbourne Cup week is Australia's biggest racing week on the calendar each year. The jewel in the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival crown is is the time-honoured Melbourne Cup over 3200 metres on the first Tuesday in November.

Victoria Derby Day on Saturday 30th October 2021 is the first day of the four-day Flemington spring racing carnival. Highlight of the meeting is the Group 1 AAMI Victoria Derby for three-year-olds over 2500 metres.

The following Tuesday 2nd November is Melbourne Cup Day, where the 'race that stops a nation' takes centre stage. A huge crowd of racing fans descend on Flemington for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup, the richest handicap race in the world over two miles.

Two days later on Thursday 4th November is VRC Oaks Day, where the country's best three-year-old fillies gather for the Group 1 VRC Oaks over 2500 metres. Emirates Stakes Day is the final day of the four-day Flemington carnival on Saturday 6th November 2020 with the Group 1 Emirates Stakes over 2000 metres the feature race of the day.

Victoria Derby Day Program

2021 Victoria Derby Day - Saturday 30th October 2021
Derby Day takes place on the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day and is widely recognised as one of the greatest days of racing anywhere in the world. Derby Day features four Group 1 races, two Group 2 races and three Group 3 races on the card, highlighted by the Coolmore Stud Stakes.

# Time Purse Status Race Distance Race Type
1 11.45am $200,000 Gr3 Carbine Club Stakes 1600m 3yo SW+P
2 12.20pm $300,000 Gr2 Wakeful Stakes  2000m 3yoF SW+P
3 1.00pm $200,000 Gr3 Begonia Belle Stakes 1100m Mares SW+P
4 1.40pm $300,000 Gr3 Hotham Handicap 2500m Quality
5 2.25pm $1,000,000 Gr1 Coolmore Stud Stakes  1200m 3yo SW
6 3.05pm $500,000 Gr1 Empire Rose Stakes 1600m F&M WFA
7 3.50pm $1,500,000 Gr1 AAMI Victoria Derby  2500m 3yo SW
8 4.35pm $1,000,000 Gr1 Cantala Stakes 1600m Quality
9 5.20pm $302,000 Gr2 Linlithgow Stakes  1200m Handicap

Melbourne Cup Day Program

2021 Melbourne Cup Day - Tuesday 2nd November 2021
Melbourne Cup Day, on the Tuesday, is the biggest day of the week-long carnival at Flemington. It's the social event of the year in the city of Melbourne, with the Melbourne Cup the highlight at 3pm.

# Time Purse Status Race Distance Race Type
1 11.00am $151,500 Gr3 Ottawa Stakes 1000m  2yoF Sw
2 11.40am $120,000 tab.com.au Trophy 1700m Mares Hcp
3 12.15pm $120,000   Lavazza Short Black 1400m  4&5yo 0-90
4 12.50pm $120,000 House Charities Plate 2800m 0-96 Hcp
5 1.20pm $120,000 Schweppes Fling 1000m  3yo SW+P
6 2.00pm $150,000 LR Lexus Hybrid Plate 1400m  3yoF SW+P
7 3.00pm $6,000,000 Gr1 2019 Melbourne Cup 3200m  Handicap
8 4.05pm $150,000 LR James Boag's Stakes 1800m  Handicap
9 4.45pm $$120,000 Mss Security Sprint 1200m Handicap
10 5.20pm $200,000 Gr3 Maybe Mahal Stakes 1400m Mares SW+P

2021 Melbourne Cup Info

Melbourne Cup day is the feature event of the spring and more info can be found below, including Melbourne Cup History and Melbourne Cup betting.

We highly recommend Unibet for all your spring racing carnival betting.

VRC Oaks Day Program

2021 VRC Oaks Day - Thursday 4th November 2021
VRC Oaks Day celebrates a day of fashion for the females and it's known as 'Ladies Day', with the main race of the day being the VRC Oaks for three-year-old fillies.

# Time Purse Status Race Distance Race Type
1 12.15pm $120,000 Drinkwise Plate 1700m  F&M 0-70 Hcp
2 12.55pm $120,000 Twitter Trophy 1800m 0-90 Hcp
3 1.35pm $120,000   Subzero Handicap 1400m Greys 0-90
4 2.15pm $200,000 Country Final 1600m BM90 Hcp
5 2.55pm $200,000 Gr3 Chatham Stakes 1400m Handicap
6 3.35pm $150,000 LR Dilmah Earl Grey Stakes 1000m SW+P
7 4.15pm $150,000 LR Seppelt Wine Stakes 1800m 3yo Hcp
8 5.00pm $1,000,000 Gr1 VRC Oaks 2500m 3yoF SW
9 5.45pm $200,000 Gr3 Red Roses Stakes 1100m 3yoF SW+P

Emirates Stakes Day Program

2021 Emirates Stakes Day - Saturday 8th November 2021
Emirates Day is the final day of the carnival and the focus is on families spending time together at the races, with the day known as 'Family Day'. The Emirates Stakes is the main event of the day.

# Time Purse Status Race Distance Race Type
1 12.20am $151,500 Gr3 Maribyrnong Plate 1000m 2yo SW
2 1.00pm $101,500 SecondBite Plate 2000m 0-90 Hcp
3 1.40pm $101,500 Antler Luggage Handicap 1600m 0-96 Hcp
4 2.20pm $151,500 LR Hilton Hotels Stakes 1400m 3yo Hcp
5 3.00pm $302,000 Gr2 Matriarch Stakes 2000m  Mares SW+P
6 3.40pm $1,002,500 Gr1 VRC Sprint Classic 1200m  WFA
7 4.20pm $2,000,000 Gr1 Emirates Stakes 2000m  Quality
8 5.05pm $251,500 Gr3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2600m Quality
9 5.40pm $101,500 Emirates Airline Handicap 1400m 4yo&up Hcp

Melbourne Cup Carnival Crowd Figures

The 2020 Melbourne CUp was locked out due to the recent pandemic.

A whopping 276,186 racing fans flocked to the four days of the 2019 Melbourne Cup carnival, with Cup day alone drawing 81,804 people to Flemington racecourse.

  • 2019 Victoria Derby day crowd: 80,214
  • 2019 Melbourne Cup day crowd: 81,408
  • 2019 VRC Oaks day crowd: 57,296
  • 2019 Emirates Stakes day crowd: 57,268

Twilight Payment wins 2020 Melbourne Cup

Irish trained galloper Twilight Payment, ridden by Jye McNeil, captured the 2020 Melbourne CUp.

In second place was Tiger Moth, piloted by Kerrin McEvoy, with Prince Of Arran, ridden by Jamie Kah, third.

2021 Melbourne Cup Best Odds

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