What bets should you have on the Melbourne Cup? A guide for every budget

No idea how to bet tomorrow? Here’s your quick guide on what to back in the Melbourne Cup, whether your budget is $10, $100 or somewhere in between.

Daniel Sankey

4 min read

4:15PMNovember 04, 2019.

Updated 4:47PMNovember 04, 2019

Here’s hoping there are plenty of happy faces like these ones after you all follow our betting strategy on tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup. Picture: File

No idea what bets you should have on the Melbourne Cup tomorrow? Never fear — not only do we have a strategy, but we’ve got expert selections from racehorse trainer-turned Channel 10 presenter Francesca Cumani. When you put them together, we’ve got a sure-fire Melbourne Cup method for every punter, whether you’re spending $10, $100 or somewhere in between.

Francesca Cumani knows a thing or two about horses. Picture: Luke Marsden

FRANCESCA CUMANI’S MELBOURNE CUP TIPS
8 MUSTAJEER
2 Mer de Glace
15 Magic Wand
13 Raymond Tusk

I’VE ONLY GOT $10. WHICH HORSE DO I BACK?

If you’ve only got $10 to play with, you might like to consider handing that over to whoever is running your office sweep. But if leaving it to blind luck isn’t to your fancy, your best investment is probably an each way bet on Francesca’s second selection, the equal favourite 2 MER DE GLACE. Don’t think you don’t have a chance of a decent collect, though … the favourite in the Melbourne Cup invariably runs around at a pretty good price — and if you were to have a $5 each way bet on Mer de Glace in the TAB’s fixed odds market (at the current odds of $8 the win and $2.75 the place) and he wins, you’ll collect a very tidy $53.75. And if he runs second or third, you’ll win more than your money back — a collect of $13.75. Yes, that’s only a profit of $3.75, but at least you’re not losing!

Suggested bet for $10 investment
* $5 each way on 2 MER DE GLACE (TAB fixed odds — $8 and $2.75)

Jockey Damian Lane rides Mer De Glace to victory in last month’s Caulfield Cup. Picture: AAP

LASH OUT A LITTLE — HAVE $20 ON THE CUP

With $20, we can play a bit wider. Let’s stick with an each way bet on the favourite, Mer de Glace … but let’s throw in another horse that’s a bit of value. Francesca Cumani is very keen on the chances of 8 MUSTAJEER, who stormed home from the back of the field to run sixth in the Caulfield Cup, beaten less than two lengths. To be ridden by the in-form Damien Oliver, the Kris Lees-trained import is a very tempting $21 the win and $6 the place in the TAB’s fixed odds market. A small investment of $2 each way here can still give us a very nice return of $54 if Mustajeer wins, and $12 if he runs second or third. That leaves us with $6 to play with, so let’s throw Francesca’s top four selections (8 MUSTAJEER, 2 MER DE GLACE, 15 MAGIC WAND, 13 RAYMOND TUSK) into a four-horse boxed trifecta and see if we can jag a really big payday. If three of those four horses fill the first three places, you’ll collect 25% of the trifecta dividend, which generally runs into the thousands on the Cup.

Suggested bet for $20 investment
* $5 each way on 2 MER DE GLACE (TAB fixed odds — $8 and $2.75)
* $2 each way on 8 MUSTAJEER (TAB fixed odds — $21 and $6)
* $6 flexi boxed trifecta — 2,8,13,15 (for 25% of the trifecta dividend)

Francesca Cumani’s top selection for tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup, Mustajeer, is seen galloping at Werribee. Picture: AAP

I’M FEELING LUCKY — HERE’S $50 ON THE CUP
Got a spare pineapple in your wallet or purse? That’s great news, because we have the perfect strategy for you. We’re sticking with Francesca Cumani’s top two selections in 2 MER DE GLACE and 8 MUSTAJEER, but we’re going to significantly up our stake … this time, we’ll have $10 each way on 2 MER DE GLACE and $5 each way on 8 MUSTAJEER. That’s a potential collect of $107.50 on the Mer de Glace, or $135 if Mustajeer salutes. We’re then going to have a $10 boxed trifecta on Francesca’s top four selections … plus we’re going to have $5 each way on Francesca’s best roughie of the race in 13 RAYMOND TUSK, who’s currently paying $21 for the win and $6 for the place on the TAB’s fixed odds market. Like Mustajeer, that’s a potential collect of $135 if he can win.

Suggested bet for $50 investment
* $10 each way on 2 MER DE GLACE (TAB fixed odds — $8 and $2.75)
* $5 each way on 8 MUSTAJEER (TAB fixed odds — $21 and $6)
* $5 each way on 13 RAYMOND TUSK (TAB fixed odds — $21 and $6)
* $10 flexi boxed trifecta — 2, 8, 13, 15 (for 41% of the trifecta dividend)

Raymond Tusk — the horse, not the jockey — is Francesca Cumani’s best roughie in this year’s Melbourne Cup. Picture: AAP

HEY BIG SPENDER — A $100 INVESTMENT
Feeling really lucky and want to splurge $100 on the Cup? You’ve obviously got more dollars than sense, but that’s okay … because it also means you’ve got a better chance to win big. Again working around Francesca’s top tips, we’re going to gamble with a $30 win only bet on 2 MER DE GLACE and each way bets on both 8 MUSTAJEER ($10 each way) and 13 RAYMOND TUSK ($5 each way). That leaves us with a big throw of the dice — a strong go at winning the trifecta with some extra numbers thrown in to give us a better chance of cracking the big dividend. In addition to Francesca’s four selections, we’re going to also include equal race favourite 11 FINCHE, as well as 20 IL PARADISO and 23 VOW AND DECLARE, to fill second or third placings. Taking in 120 possible combinations, we’ll get 33% of what will no doubt be a huge trifecta payout for a $40 investment.

Suggested bet for $100 investment
* $30 win on 2 MER DE GLACE (TAB fixed odds — $8)
* $5 each way on 8 MUSTAJEER (TAB fixed odds — $21 and $6)
* $5 each way on 13 RAYMOND TUSK (TAB fixed odds — $21 and $6)
* $40 flexi boxed trifecta — 2,8,13,15 / 2,8,11,13,15,20,23 / 2,8,11,13,15,20,23 (for 33% of the trifecta dividend)