The Melbourne Cup — the race that stops the nation — is here again with a field of 24 local and international horses racing over 3200m for a whopping $10 million in prizemoney and trophies.
Here are the key things you need to know ahead of the 165th running of the great race.
START TIME: WHEN IS IT ON?
As always, the first Tuesday in November — this year falling on the 4th. This year’s race will start at 3pm AEDT.
So that’s 3pm for Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Hobart. The race begins at 1.30pm if you’re in Darwin, 2pm in Brisbane and 2.30pm in Adelaide.
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WHO IS IN THE FIELD?
The latest Melbourne Cup order of entry can be found here, with 40 horses still in the running to make the final 24-horse field, which will be made official on Saturday evening.
WHAT PRIZEMONEY IS ON OFFER?
This year’s prize pool carries a total value of $10 million, up from $8 million last year.
That pool consists of more than $9 million in cash and $910,000 worth of trophies — including the 18-carat solid gold Hardy Brothers trophy — valued at $250,000 — awarded to the winning owners.
The winning horse’s connection receive a $4.5 million first prize, with the rest of the payouts as follows: 2nd: $1.1 million, 3rd: $560,000, 4th: $360,000, 5th: $240,000, 6th-12th: $160,000, 13-24th: $100,000.
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WHO WON IT LAST YEAR?
Local runner Knight’s Choice pulled off one of the biggest boilovers in Melbourne Cup history to win last year’s race at odds of 100/1.
The horse — ridden by Robbie Dolan and co-trained by John Symonds and Sheila Laxon — edged Japanese raider Warp Speed in a thrilling photo finish, with Okita Soushi finishing third in a frantic finale that featured winning chances all over the track.
Paying as much as $101 on fixed odds before the race, Knight’s Choice became the longest-priced winner of the race since Prince of Penzance in 2015.
WHO ARE THE FAVOURITES THIS YEAR?
Caulfield Cup winner Half Yours holds slight favouritism for this year’s race at $6, narrowly ahead of Chris Waller-trained Valiant King ($7), who finished third in that race after winning The Lexus Bart Cummings earlier in October.
There is plenty of hype around star import Al Riffa, who is trained by Irishman Joseph O’Brien and rated an $8 along with Cox Plate winner Buckaroo.
French galloper Presage Nocturne, who ran fourth in the Caulfield Cup, is rated among the top hopes as a $9 chance.
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