Melbourne Cup 2023 Tips

<h2>Melbourne Cup 2023 Betting Tips</h2> <p>There is nothing like the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/flemington/race-7-7759118">Melbourne Cup</a>. It’s more than a race and it’s more than an event. The Melbourne Cup is a cultural phenomenon that has been built into Australian DNA since it was first run in 1861, when Archer won in front of 4000 cheering fans.</p> <p>Twenty-five years of the first Cup, almost a quarter of Melbourne’s population of 400,000 were flocking to Flemington racecourse on the banks of the Maribyrnong River for a week-long festival of racing, fashion and fun.</p> <p>In 1895, the legendary American writer Mark Twain, upon returning home after a visit to Australia wrote of his Melbourne Cup experience. “Nowhere in the world have I encountered a festival of people that has such a magnificent appeal to the whole nation. The Cup astonishes me.”</p> <p>What makes Twain’s recollection of the Cup even more amazing, it is a myth that he was at Flemington when 100,000 excited fans launched their hats into the air when the filly, Auraria, streaked away with the Cup at 33-1. Although Twain had been in Melbourne during his Australian tour, a trip to Flemington wasn’t on his agenda. However, he got a dose of Cup fever during the weeks leading into the race, but he was in Hobart when the Cup run and, like most of the people of Tasmania, he waited expectantly for news of the Cup result by telegraph, and there is every change Twain had wager on his favourite Melbourne Cup tip.</p> <p>The Victoria Racing Club, for 163 years the host of the Melbourne Cup, has trademarked the phrase that perfectly sums up Melbourne Cup Day – “The race that stops a nation”– but since the internationalisation of the great race after the Irish invader Vintage Crop won the Cup in 1993, it can easily be said that the Cup stops the world as the worldwide attention focuses on a unique “two-mile” handicap run Down Under.</p> <p>Since 1993, 190 horses from all parts of the northern hemisphere have gambled on the expense of a flight to Melbourne to win the Cup – only eight horses trained in Europe (seven) and Japan (one) have won. Horses from Singapore, Hong Kong and South Africa have tried and failed.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Expert Melbourne Cup Race Day Tips</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Get On team have submitted their tips for the race that stops the nation. Check them out below.</p>

<h2>Melbourne Cup Field</h2> <p>When the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/horse-racing/melbourne-cup/order-of-entry">2023 Melbourne Cup entries</a> were taken on September 5, there were 132 horses (17 internationals) with Melbourne Cup ambitions. The Melbourne Cup weights were announced on September 19 and last year’s winner, Gold Trip, was top weight with 58.5kg.</p> <p>The Cup entries were reduced to 72 when first declarations were announced on October 3, and then to 44 at second acceptances on October 17. When the crucial third declarations were announced on Monday, October 30, only 32 (five internationals) were left in the Melbourne Cup field. The winner of the Archer Stakes, run at Flemington on Derby Day, gains an automatic entry into the Melbourne Cup field.</p> <p>The final Melbourne Cup field of 24 will be announced after final acceptances are declared on Derby Day, Saturday, November 4.</p> <p>The all-important Melbourne Cup barrier draw will be conducted at Flemington after the Derby Day meeting between 6.00pm and 6.30pm.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Which Horses Can Win the 2023 Melbourne Cup?</h2> <p>What hasn’t stopped since 1861 is the search for a Melbourne Cup tip. For Uber and taxi drivers there is only one question during the<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/horse-racing/news/spring-racing-carnival-guide-2023"> Spring Racing Carnival</a>, “Who will win the Melbourne Cup?”</p> <h3>Vauban</h3> <p>Since Vauban thrashed his opposition in a 2800m handicap at Royal Ascot in June, the Irish-trained galloper has been the hottest Melbourne Cup tip on the taxi ranks and beyond, and the favourite in the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/flemington/race-7-7759118">Melbourne Cup betting markets</a>. Nothing much has changed for the Willie Mullins-trained gelding who has a strikingly similar profile to the game-changing Irish stayer Vintage Crop who famously won the Cup in 1993. Like Vintage Crop, Vauban has a stellar career as a hurdler, but is also adept on the flat.</p> <p>Mullins, who trained Max Dynamite to finish second behind Prince Of Penzance in the 1995 Melbourne Cup, has an enduring passion to win the Cup after spending time working in Australia in his youth. He rates Vauban as his best Melbourne Cup tip since then – champion Irish jockey Ryan Moore will ride Vauban – and the betting markets agree. This year, Mullins has doubled up with a second Melbourne Cup horse in the Ebor winner Absurde.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Gold Trip</h3> <p>Last year’s winner Gold Trip remains one of the top Melbourne Cup tips despite history not being in his favour. Only five horses have won multiple Melbourne Cups – Makybe Diva (three times, 2003-05), Think Big (1974-75), Rain Lover (1968-69), Peter Pan (1932, 1934) and Archer (1861-62) – which indicates what a tough assignment it is.</p> <p>The Caulfield Cup, since it was first run in the spring in 1881, has been the traditional guide to finding the right horse to win the Melbourne Cup. There have been 52 Caulfield Cup winners run in the Melbourne Cup, 11 have won. Since 1960, 28 Melbourne Cup winners had a lead-up run in the Caulfield Cup, including recent winners Gold Trip (2022) and Vow And Declare (2019).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Without A Fight</h3> <p>This year’s Caulfield Cup is significant after Without A Fight gunned down West Wind Blow and Gold Trip to win and confirm his place at the top of the Melbourne Cup tips. So impressed was jockey Mark Zahra, he has jumped off his 2022 Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip to ride Without A Fight. Eleven horses have won the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double, and Without A Fight – with a 1kg weight penalty – is good enough to be no. 12. The most recent horse to win both races was Ethereal in 2001.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>How Often Does the Melbourne Cup Favourite Win?</h2> <p>In 162 Melbourne Cups, 34 favourites have won the great race. The fact the Melbourne Cup is a handicap in which the best-performed horses carry the heaviest weight over a gruelling 3200 metres means that lightly weighted horses can cause an upset, such as jockey Michelle Payne’s historic win on Prince Of Penzance, at $101, in 2015. “The Prince” is one of five Melbourne Cup winners to start at $101 (100-1).</p> <p>Last year’s Melbourne Cup winner, <strong>Gold Trip</strong>, started at $21, beating <strong>Emissary</strong> ($26) and <strong>High Emocean</strong> ($41). The top Melbourne Cup tip and heavily backed favourite, <strong>Deauville Legend</strong> ($4.40) finished fourth.</p> <p>The shortest-priced Melbourne Cup winner is the legendary Phar Lap, who won in 1930 at $1.72 (8-11). Makybe Diva ($3.60, 5-2) is the most recent short-priced favourite to win when she won her second of three Cups in 2004.</p>

<h2>The Melbourne Cup Tip on the Barriers – the Best or the Worst, and the Unusual</h2> <p>There was a time when if your favourite Melbourne Cup tip drew barrier 18, you’d head to the bar for a stiff drink. Since barrier draws were introduced in 1924, only one horse – $26 hope Gatum Gatum in 1963 – had won from barrier 18. Star mare Verry Elleegant put pay to the hoodoo and made it two for 18 when she won in 2021.</p> <p>The barriers that have supplied the most winners are five and 11 with nine winners, the most recent winner from five was Fiorente in 2013, and for 11, it was “tres bien” Americain for the French in 2010.</p> <p>The Melbourne Cup tip is that the shortest way home is along the rail. However, the most recent of only four winners to draw barrier 1 was $101 longshot Prince Of Penzance, who upset the hot Melbourne Cup tip Max Dynamite in 2015.&nbsp;</p> <p>The most recent horse to win from the outside barrier was Brew in 2000. Officially, he started from barrier 22 because two horses were scratched, but he actually jumped from barrier 23, because one of the scratchings was the petulant New Zealand mare Pravda, who dug in her heels and refused to go to the start, and she was withdrawn by the stewards after holding up the start for four minutes. She was to have jumped from barrier 7, which was kept vacant.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Age Has No Barrier for a Melbourne Cup Tip, Unless You Are Nine or Older</h2> <p>If you are doing your racing tips, take note that no horse older than eight has won a Melbourne Cup.</p> <p>Horses that are four-years-old have the most Melbourne Cup wins, with 45, including two recent winners Vow And Declare (2019) and Cross Counter (2018). It’s worth noting that northern hemisphere-bred horses are raised a year in age when they race in Australia.</p> <p>For example, recent European-trained winners Rekindling and Cross Counter were three-year-olds in England and Ireland, but registered as four-year-olds in Australia. One horse in this year’s Cup field, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Valiant King, is a NH-bred three-year-old, and the racing tip is that O’Brien knows the profile of that type of horse having won with Rekindling.</p> <p>There have been 44 five-year-olds win the Melbourne Cup, but since Viewed won in 2008, only Protectionist – bred in Germany – has added to the tally.<br /> If you like a six-year-old in your Melbourne Cup tips, you might be on a winner because of the 35 six-year-olds to win, from 2010 it has been the dominant age with seven winners, including the past two, the mare Verry Elleegant in 2021 and Gold Trip last year.</p> <p>Only 11 seven-year-olds have won the Cup, with Almandin – who was a big Melbourne Cup tip – the most recent in 2016. The three eight-year-olds to win are Toryboy (1865), Catalogue (1938) and Twilight Payment in 2020. They all started at $26 (25-1) so they weren’t in the racing tips of most punters.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Quinella Tips for the Melbourne Cup</h2> <p>If you have sorted out your Melbourne Cup tips and you want to play the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/punter-iq/guide/what-is-a-quinella">quinella</a>, you need to have backed the first two horses across the line, in any order.</p> <p>Punters take a single quinella containing their top two Melbourne Cup tips, or a quinella box in which the punter can add more horses to their racing tips and if any two of the selected group finish first and second, there is a collect.</p> <p>A popular way for some punters to play the Melbourne Cup quinella, is a key box quinella, in which there is a main Melbourne Cup tip coupled with six other horses. Vauban needs to finish first or second, and the punter wins if one of the other six horses fills the other placing.</p> <p>Our racing tip for the standout horse in your Melbourne Cup quinella is to make Irish visitor <em>Vauban </em>your main selection from Caulfield Cup winner <em>Without A Fight</em> and Chris Waller’s stayer <em>Soulcombe</em>. Three horses to add to that trio include last year’s winner <em>Gold Trip</em>, Japanese galloper <em>Breakup</em>, Moonee Valley Cup winner <em>Cleveland</em> and Hollie Doyle’s ride <em>Future History.</em></p> <h3>Melbourne Cup Quinella&nbsp;Tip</h3> <p>Boxed Quinella<strong>&nbsp;</strong>with..</p> <ul> <li><strong>Vauban</strong></li> <li><strong>Without A Fight</strong></li> <li><strong>Soulcombe</strong></li> <li><strong>Gold Trip</strong></li> <li><strong>Breakup</strong></li> <li><strong>Cleveland</strong></li> <li><strong>Future History</strong></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Trifecta Tips for the Melbourne Cup</h2> <p>Betting a <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/punter-iq/guide/what-is-a-trifecta">trifecta</a> – your top three Melbourne Cup tips to finish in order – is an excellent way to get a substantial result from your Melbourne Cup plays. You can broaden your Melbourne Cup trifecta by boxing those top three horses for the value of $6 for a $1 unit (3x3x1), meaning they can finish in any order.</p> <p>A key box Melbourne Cup trifecta for big result could be to play your top four Melbourne Cup tips to finish first or second, and expand your racing tips for third place.</p> <p>Our top three Melbourne Cup tips are <em>Vauban, Without A Fight and Soulcombe.</em> You can add Gold Trip for a box four or include them in a key box trifecta. Others to consider throwing into the racing tip mix to add value to your trifecta include: Breakup, Cleveland, Future History, Absurde, Vow And Declare, Right You Are, More Felons, Valiant King, Okita Soushi and Damien Oliver’s farewell mount Alenquer.</p> <h3>Melbourne Cup Trifecta Tip</h3> <p>Boxed Trifecta with..</p> <ul> <li><strong>Vauban</strong></li> <li><strong>Without A Fight</strong></li> <li><strong>Soulcombe</strong></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>First 4 Tips for the Melbourne Cup</h2> <p>The harder the task, the bigger the dividend, that’s the aim of the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/punter-iq/guide/what-is-a-first-4">First 4</a>. If you are looking to box your top six chances, the outlay for a $1 unit is 6x5x4x3 = $360 (or part of). You can reduce that outlay by making the top Melbourne Cup tip, in our case Vauban, the winner with the over five to finish second to fourth. That will cost 1x5x4x3 = $60, and the chance of a handy dividend.</p> <p>Our recommended top six are: Vauban, Without A Fight, Soulcombe, Gold Trip, Breakup and Cleveland. Others in the racing tip mix include: Future History, Absurde, Vow And Declare, Right You Are, More Felons, Valiant King, Okita Soushi and Damien Oliver’s farewell mount Alenquer.</p> <h3>Melbourne Cup First 4 Tip</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Vauban</strong></li> <li><strong>Without A Fight</strong></li> <li><strong>Soulcombe</strong></li> <li><strong>Gold Trip</strong></li> <li><strong>Breakup</strong></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>The Melbourne Cup Top Three Tips</h2> <h3>Vauban</h3> <p>His trainer Willie Mullins is a master horseman and he targeted Vauban as his top Melbourne Cup tip more than a year ago. He has been at the top of the Melbourne Cup betting markets since he dominated his rivals at Newmarket. Champion jockey Ryan Moore, who won on Protectionist in 2014, will ride him.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Without A Fight</h3> <p>His Caulfield Cup win at his second run for the Spring Racing Carnival was brilliant. His jockey Mark Zahra has dumped him in preference for last year’s Cup winner Gold Trip. That’s a racing tip good enough for us to follow.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Soulcombe</h3> <p>Chris Waller has been meticulous with Soulcombe’s Melbourne Cup preparation. He was terrific in the Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington, and then sound enough after blowing the start in the Caulfield Cup. He will be ready to fire on Tuesday.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Melbourne Cup Roughie Tips</h2> <p>The top three Melbourne Cup tips that are over the odds in the Melbourne Cup betting markets are:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Vow And Declare</h3> <p>He won the Melbourne Cup in 2019 as a four-year-old and he returns four years later to try to create history – only five horses have won multiple Melbourne Cups, and no horse has won it four years apart. His recent form suggests he’s going as well as he was in 2019.</p> <h3>More Felons</h3> <p>He raced in Ireland as Scriptwriter and like a lot of good English and Irish stayers, he’s performed well over hurdles and on the flat. Trainer Chris Waller seems to have got him going nicely. His Geelong Cup fifth was encouraging to suggest he could run a sneakily good race and fits into your “roughie” Melbourne Cup tips.</p> <h3>Okita Soushi</h3> <p>His trainer Joseph O’Brien has won the Melbourne Cup twice – Rekindling and Twilight Payment (2020). Okita Soushi is a tough six-year-old who didn’t disgrace in a fast run Caulfield Cup. Expect Flemington and the slower tempo of the Cup to suit him. There’s a racing tip from the stable that he will relish a firm track, which the weather boffins are tipping he is likely to get.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NIC ASHMAN'S GUIDE TO THE 2023 LEXUS MELBOURNE CUP</h2> <h4><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/author/nic-ashman">Nic Ashman’s</a> Tips</h4> <p><strong>3. Without A Fight</strong></p> <p><strong>6. Soulcombe</strong></p> <p><strong>11. Ashrun</strong></p> <p><strong>16. Magical Lagoon</strong></p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>1.&nbsp; Gold Trip</strong></p> <p>Won this race last year two starts after finishing 5th in Turnbull Stakes. Won Turnbull this year, last 3 Aussie Cup winners have run in Turnbull.</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 2</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 58.5</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>2. Alenquer</strong></p> <p>Not going well enough but his best run in AUS was last start and it was the first time he got out to a staying distance. Improver?&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 9</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 56.5</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>3. Without A Fight</strong></p> <p>Caulfield Cup winner that hasn’t run a bad race in 2023. Jockey Mark Zahra chose to ride him over Gold Trip.</p> <p><strong>Barrier: </strong>16</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 56.5</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br /> <strong>4. Breakup</strong></p> <p>Beaten comfortably in the Caulfield Cup when first-up but he's a second-up specialist. Watch for improvement.</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 18</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 55</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>5. Vauban</strong></p> <p>Irish raider, won a 2816m race by 7.5L during the Royal Ascot carnival. Hasn’t raced since August and yet to win in 3 first-up runs.</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 3</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 55</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>6. Soulcombe</strong></p> <p>Huge run in Turnbull Stakes then bombed start and charged home in the Caulfield Cup. Flemington specialist, weighted to win and trained by grand final specialist, Chris Waller.</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 4</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 53.5</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>7. Absurde</strong></p> <p>Ebor Hcp winner and that race has proven a good guide for more than a decade. Hasn't missed a top 2 finish in 7 starts on dry tracks&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 8</p> <p><strong>Weight: </strong>53</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>8. Right You Are</strong></p> <p>Sat on a hot tempo and was gutsy in Caulfield Cup. Missed a place just once in 6 starts on this track. Stable won this race last year.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier: </strong>15</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 53</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>9. Vow And Declare</strong></p> <p>Won this race in 2019 and has returned to form recently running 2nd in the G1 Caulfield Stakes &amp; Moonee Valley Gold Cup at his past two runs.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 19</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 53</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>10. Cleveland</strong></p> <p>Last start winner of the Moonee Valley Gold Cup and wears the colours of Lloyd Williams, who has won more Cups [7] than any owner on the planet.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 23</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 52</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>11. Ashrun</strong></p> <p>Good run in the 2020 Cup then sidelined through injury for 3 years. Returned this spring, ran a bottler in Geelong Cup. Drops in weight, won 4th-up previously, jockey won 3 Cups.</p> <p><strong>Barrier: </strong>11</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51.5</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>12. Daqiansweet Junior</strong></p> <p>Needs racing to get fit each campaign. Now 5th-up and has won 5 from 10 when 5th-up or deeper in a prep. Proven at the trip.</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 12</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51.5</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>13. Okita Soushi</strong></p> <p>Beaten comfortably in the Caulfield Cup and although he's won at the distance, does appear to be up against it.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier</strong>: 20</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51.5</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>14. Sheraz</strong></p> <p>Never won on a dry track. Best to drink the Sheraz and not bet on it.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 22</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51.5</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>15. Lastotchka</strong></p> <p>Has some ability but all her form is on wet tracks. Hard to form a conclusion. Perhaps one for the exotic players.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 21</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>16. Magical Lagoon</strong></p> <p>Her sectional times suggest this is a stamina horse. Was no surprise her best run since arriving in Aus was last start at her first go beyond 2000m. Might improve sharply out to 3200m.</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 7</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>17. Military Mission</strong></p> <p>Won the G3 Newcastle Gold Cup, G2 Herbert Power at last three starts and close up at G1 level in Metropolitan Hcp. Hall of Famer Gai Waterhouse trains.</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 5</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>18. Serpentine</strong></p> <p>Can easily turn the 2L defeat behind Future History in The Bart Cummings around given he drops 7kg. Waterhouse trains, Lloyd Williams owns.</p> <p><strong>Barrier: </strong>1</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>19. Virtious Circle</strong></p> <p>Huge run in The Bart Cummings when had no luck and only beaten 3.6L. Poor last start at Geelong but the key is Flemington, he loves this track.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 6</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 51</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>20. More Felons</strong></p> <p>One start in Australia and flew home in the Geelong Cup when first-up. Unbeaten second-up and trained by the grand-final specialist Chris Waller.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier: </strong>24</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 50.5</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>21. Future History</strong></p> <p>Won The Bart Cummings to qualify for this. Stable are stamina experts and gets in with light weight. Forgotten horse?</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 13</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 50</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>22. Interpretation</strong></p> <p>Won the Bendigo Cup and backs up. Stable did this year with High Emocean and she ran 3rd in the Cup at huge odds. History repeating?</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 17</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 50</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>23. Kalapour</strong></p> <p>The last horse to qualify for this year's race through The Archer on Saturday. Lacks the class but has the perfect set-up to run to his peak. Top 5 chance.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 14</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 50</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>24. True Marvel</strong></p> <p>3200m specialist [6:1-2-1] but typically races in far easier contests than this. Highly unlikely to trouble these.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Barrier:</strong> 10</p> <p><strong>Weight:</strong> 50</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Melbourne Cup Latest News</h3> <p>2.38&nbsp;The first 6 races at Flemington are done. We are now less than 30 minutes away from the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/horse-racing/australia-nz/flemington">Lexus Melbourne Cup</a>. <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/results/today/racing/horses-aus-nz-1/flemington-351">You can see the results of the prior races here.</a><strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/results/today/racing/horses-aus-nz-1/flemington-351"> </a></strong></p> <p>10.02: Possible thunderstorms predicted to hit Melbourne this afternoon. This could shift the odds to soft track horses as we get closer to the race.&nbsp;</p> <p>9.37: In-doubt horse Alenquer is fit to ride today after passing fitness checks early this morning. He is set to be ridden by champion jockey, Damien Oliver, who is riding for his 4th Melbourne cup victory today.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you are interested in a Melbourne Cup bet, <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/punter-iq/guide/how-to-bet-on-horses-a-horse-racing-betting-guide">click here</a> for our guide on How To Bet On Horse Racing.</p>