Foolproof five-minute guide to the Melbourne Cup

If you only have five spare minutes to work out who you’re on for the 2024 Melbourne Cup, this is the perfect guide for you.

Wondering who you should have your money on in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup? Need some handy stats to impress your friends and colleagues?

Here’s the five-minute guide to tomorrow’s great race.

Must-know Melbourne Cup facts

Run on the first Tuesday in November every year, the Melbourne Cup is a 3200m (two miles in the old parlance) contest and is this year worth a total of $8.5 million.

Last year’s winner was Without A Fight, who unfortunately sustained a minor injury and won’t defend his title.

His jockey Mark Zahra, however, is back and will become the first jockey to win the race on three different horses in three successive years if he can salute aboard Circle Of Fire.

With 12 wins, the late Bart Cummings is the most successful trainer in the race’s history – and his grandson James will be aiming to continue the family tradition when he saddles up Zardozi.

Without A Fight romped to victory last year. Photo by Brett Holburt/Racing Photos via Getty Images

Who are this year’s favourites?

This year’s Melbourne Cup is one of the most open in recent memory. The current favourite on Ladbrokes is the UK raider Vauban, who’s priced at $6.50 (if you were to have $10 on him, you’d get $65 back if he won the Cup).

Buckaroo is next in line at $7 from Onesmoothoperator ($8.50), Absurde ($9.50) and Zardozi ($10).

Which horse has the best form?

It’s no surprise that Vauban – who started favourite in last year’s Cup – has been well-fancied since the field was declared on Saturday.

Since his unplaced effort in last year’s Melbourne Cup, Vauban has started five times – all at Group 1 or Group 2 level in England and Ireland – and not finished further back than fourth.

Impress your friends by talking about Vauban’s strong staying effort in the Irish St Leger, in which he was second behind the world’s best stayer, Kyprios. Watch the replay of that race below … Vauban is the horse in the light pink colours who makes good ground late.

Vauban is in fine form. Pictures : Michael Klein

The Caulfield Cup is traditionally a terrific form reference for this race and while the winner (Duke De Sessa) isn’t in this year’s Melbourne Cup field, the second and third-placed horses – Buckaroo and Land Legend – are. They will be ridden by Hong Kong based jockeys Joao Moreira and Zac Purton, both of whom are chasing their first Melbourne Cup wins.

Which horse is the best roughie?

If you can’t stand to put your money on the favourites, consider backing the Japanese horse Warp Speed ($26). His Caulfield Cup run was plain to the eye, but he’s crying out for the two miles and for a firm track, both of which he’ll get on Tuesday.

Warp Speed could earn you a small fortune. Photo by William WEST / AFP

At longer odds, Athabascan ($51) comes into the Melbourne Cup off an impressive victory in the St Leger (2600m). And don’t rule out $101 pop Valiant King, who has been set for this race by master trainer Chris Waller – connections including prominent owner Ozzie Kheir are confident he’ll run a massive race.

Who is the best jockey?

Kerrin McEvoy, who is gunning for his fourth Melbourne Cup win, is riding Vauban’s stablemate Absurde. He knows what it takes to win at the top level and Absurde has drawn a perfect gate.

Craig Williams is in terrific form, capturing the rich The Everest–Russell Balding double on Bella Nipotina in the past few weeks. He’ll be on UK horse Onesmoothoperator, who he rode to a convincing victory in the Geelong Cup last month.

And Jamie Kah was the star on Derby Day on Saturday, winning the feature on Goldrush Guru. She’ll have plenty of support from punters when she’s legged aboard Moonee Valley Gold Cup winner Okita Soushi.

And if Mark Zahra can win … he’ll create his own slice of history.

Mark Zahra is chasing history. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Where can I get expert tips?

Look no further than Racenet’s Pro Tips section, which features some of Australia’s best tipsters including Mark Guest, James Molony and Greg Polson. If you subscribe to Racenet IQ, you’ll get not only their best bets for Melbourne Cup Day, but EVERY day!

How to place a bet on the Melbourne Cup?

If you want to try your hand at punting for the 2024 Melbourne Cup, the first step is to learn how to place a bet.

Lets just nut out the basics first, eh? Win and place bets.

A win bet is the main aim of the game. You back a horse to win and if it ends up being the first horse across the line, you collect your winnings.

A place bet means your horse must finish in first, second or third place for you to collect your winnings.

So grab your mobile phone or jump in front of a laptop and let’s get started.

1. Pick a horse you think will win or finish in the top 3

There are many different ways to pick a horse in this year’s Melbourne Cup.

Some options include: Get an expert’s tips; Study the form guide; Choose your favourite horse name; Go with your favourite colours; Back your lucky numbers.

2. Open an account with a bookmaker

There are a lot of bookies out there. It can be difficult to understand which one is best for you. But don’t worry, the team at Punters has spent lots of time comparing and analysing all the major bookies.

We had to crunch a lot of data and stats but the good news for you is that it’s all displayed in a nice table. Check it out here.

3. Make a deposit into your bookmaker account

You can’t place a bet without any money. Transfer some spare cash into your bookmaker account to place your bet for the Melbourne Cup.

Most bookmarkers accept common forms of payment such as credit card, Poli, BPay, etc. so depositing is quick and easy.

4. Navigate to the correct race

So you’ve finally got some money deposited to bet on the Melbourne Cup? The next step is finding your way to the Melbourne Cup page on the bookmaker website or app.

The Melbourne Cup is Race 7 at Flemington.

There are 10 races at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day so make sure to select Race 7.

If you signed up with TAB earlier, head over to its Race 7 at Flemington page.

5. Select your horse and place your bet

Now you’re on the correct race page with the bookmaker, simply select your chosen horse from step 1 and click the betting odds for either the win or place option. Once you’ve selected the odds for your horse, this will place your bet into something called a “betslip”.

A betslip is similar to the shopping cart when you’re doing your online retail therapy. It’s essentially your pending order with the bookmaker. Double check your bet is correct and also see how much your potential return is going to be.

Click the submit button at the end of the betslip to complete your bet. Good luck!

Other types of bets

Quinella: The Quinella requires you to pick the first two horses past the post, in no particular order.

Exacta: The Exacta requires you to pick the first two horses home in the correct order.

Trifecta: The Trifecta involves picking the first three horses past the post.