So, who are the favourites, and more importantly, how is your office sweepstake draw shaping up? <\/p>\n
Prepare your fascinators, here\u2019s everything you need to know ahead of the big race at Flemington.<\/p>\n
Chief executive of Racing Victoria, Aaron Morrison, explains the impact ahead of “the race that stops the nation” at Flemington. (Source: Breakfast)<\/p>\n
What is the Melbourne Cup?<\/p>\n
First run in 1861, the Melbourne Cup has become an annual institution in the world of racing.<\/p>\n
Australia essentially shuts down (the state of Victoria enjoys a public holiday) for the 24-horse race, run around a 3200m trip of the Flemington racecourse in Melbourne\u2019s northwest.<\/p>\n
With the Fashion in the Field crown almost as coveted as the race itself, it\u2019s as much an event at which to be seen as it is a sporting occasion.<\/p>\n
But of course, we all know it\u2019s a successful betting slip (or three) which truly makes or breaks the day.<\/p>\n
![\"Conspicuous](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/conspicuous-by-its-absence-will-be-the-jamie-melham-steered-SIQDY5M4GZDTZPCUKKGXNMDQBE.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Conspicuous by its absence will be the Jamie Melham-steered Half Yours, who last year completed an historic Melbourne Cup\/Caulfield Cup double. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n
Who are the favourites?<\/p>\n
British and Irish-trained horses have had the run of recent results in Melbourne, winning four of the last nine Cups, and odds suggest that may trend may continue. <\/p>\n
On the back of some impressive form, including a dominant win in the Geelong Cup, English horse Point of Law starts as the betting favourite, paying $7 to win with NZ oddsmakers.<\/p>\n
Ridden by superstar Kiwi jockey James MacDonald, Irish horse Trust Your Instinct is another highly favoured contender, sitting just behind at $7.50.<\/p>\n
UK horse Hopewell Rock has the third highest odds at $9.50.<\/p>\n
Conspicuous by its absence will be the Jamie Melham-steered Half Yours, who last year completed a historic Melbourne Cup\/Caulfield Cup double.<\/p>\n
Half Yours won\u2019t get the chance to chase consecutive Cups due to a fall suffered in last month\u2019s Caulfield Cup. <\/p>\n
What about the Kiwis?<\/p>\n
Although this year\u2019s field doesn\u2019t feature any New Zealand-trained horses, there are a pair who are New Zealand bred.<\/p>\n
Expat Kiwi trainer Chris Waller\u2019s Asterix starts in Barrier 6, ridden by Jye McNeill, sitting as a rank outsider at $61 for victory. <\/p>\n
The other is Shockletz, trained by Ciaron Maher and ridden by Harry Coffey, paying $10 to cross first. The horse has Melbourne Cup winning pedigree, sired by 2009 champion Shocking.<\/p>\n
A New Zealand owned and trained horse hasn\u2019t won the Melbourne Cup since Ethereal in 2001, while the last NZ-bred horse to claim top honours was Verry Elleegant (2021).<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/the-melbourne-cup-is-seen-during-melbourne-cup-day-at-flemin-LIZEGNUTOJG2BOTXZKFO2UZ5LA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Melbourne Cup is seen during Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n
How is the prize money divided?<\/p>\n
The field battles it out for more than A$10 million (NZ$12.75m) in prize money, making it the world\u2019s richest handicap race.<\/p>\n
The winning horse\u2019s connection receives a A$4.5 million first prize, with the rest of the payouts distributed as follows: 2nd: A$1.1 million, 3rd: A$560,000, 4th: A$360,000, 5th: A$240,000, 6th-12th: A$160,000, 13-24th: A$100,000.<\/p>\n
How’s the weather looking?<\/p>\n
The forecast in Melbourne is for fine and mildly cloudy conditions on race day, with only a slight chance of a light morning shower and an expected high of 18C. <\/p>\n
But rain and thunderstorms expected overnight on Monday mean the track will likely be soft.<\/p>\n
2026 Melbourne Cup field 2026 (including barrier draw & TAB odds)<\/p>\n
1. Sons And Lovers (GB) – Joseph O\u2019Brien Dylan Browne McMonagle (3) – $19.00<\/p>\n
2. Trustyourinstinct (IRE) 57kg Joseph O\u2019Brien James McDonald (18) – $7.50<\/p>\n
3. Knight\u2019s Choice (AU) John Symons & Sheila Laxon Robbie Dolan (2) – $34.00<\/p>\n
4. Middle Earth (GB) Ciaron Maher Mark Zahra (1) – $16.00<\/p>\n
5. Vauban (FR) Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Jordan Childs (22) – $51.00<\/p>\n
6. Enfjaar (IRE) Roger Varian Ray Dawson (8) – $23.00<\/p>\n
7. Royal Supremacy (IRE) Ciaron Maher Ben Allen (21) – $51.00<\/p>\n
8. Wine Dark Sea (GB) Harry Charlton Damian Lane (23) – $41.00<\/p>\n
9. Asterix (NZ) Chris Waller Jye McNeil (6) – $61.00<\/p>\n
10. Goodie Two Shoes (IRE) 55kg Joseph O\u2019Brien Wayne Lordan (19) – $26.00<\/p>\n
11. Juja Kibo (IRE) Ciaron Maher Sam Clipperton (14) – $12.00<\/p>\n
12. Hopewell Rock (IRE) George Boughey Zac Lloyd (15) – $9.50<\/p>\n
13. Onesmoothoperator (USA) Tim Fitzsimmons Declan Bates (13) – $61.00<\/p>\n
14. Soul Of Spain (IRE) Chris Waller Tommy Berry (5) – $34.00<\/p>\n
15. Zahrann (IRE) Ciaron Maher Ben Melham (11) – $31.00<\/p>\n
16. So You Are (AU) – Bjorn Baker Rachel King (7) – $12.00<\/p>\n
17. Future History (GB) 53.5kg Gregory Hickman Jamie Melham (12) – $51.00<\/p>\n
18. James J Braddock (IRE) 53.5kg Joseph O\u2019Brien Craig Williams (24) – $19.00<\/p>\n
19. Kizlyar (IRE) 53.5kg Joseph O\u2019Brien Beau Mertens (20) – $41.00<\/p>\n
20. Point Of Law (GB) 53kg Ciaron Maher Ethan Brown (9) – $7.00<\/p>\n
21. Strictly Business (AU) 53kg Thomas Carberry Dean Yendall (4) – $71.00<\/p>\n
22. Mr Monaco (GB) 52.5kg Ciaron Maher Jabez Johnstone (16) – $23.00<\/p>\n
23. Zakouma (AU) 52kg Grahame Begg William Pike (10) – $34.00<\/p>\n
24. Shockletz (NZ) 51kg Ciaron Maher Harry Coffey (17) – $10.00<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first Tuesday of November has arrived, which can mean only one thing \u2013 it’s Melbourne Cup day.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649172,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,37008,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-649171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-melbourne-cup","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}