The Melbourne Cup began in 1861 and has since become Australia’s most iconic horse race. Over the years, it has produced incredible moments and records. Here’s a look at some of the key facts, stats, and history from the Cup’s rich past.
When is the 2024 Melbourne Cup?
The Melbourne Cup will jump at 3pm on Tuesday, Nov. 5. It’s the seventh race on a 10-race card at Flemington.
Which horse has won the most Melbourne Cups?
Makybe Diva is the most successful horse in this race, winning the Melbourne Cup three times (2003, 2004, and 2005). Meanwhile, another four horses have won the Cup twice — Think Big (1974, 1975), Rain Lover (1968, 1969), Peter Pan (1932, 1934), and the winner of the first two editions of the race, Archer (1861, 1862).
Who is the most successful Melbourne Cup jockey?
Both Bobby Lewis (1902, 1915, 1919, 1927) and Harry White (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979) have won the race on four occasions and are the only jockeys to do so.
More recently, retired duo Damien Oliver (1995, 2002, 2013) and Glen Boss (2003, 2004, 2005) each have three wins, as does current rider Kerrin McEvoy (2000, 2016, 2018).
Who is the most successful Melbourne Cup trainer?
Legendary trainer Bart Cummings won the Melbourne Cup on 12 occasions: 1965 (Light Fingers), 1966 (Galilee), 1967 (Red Handed), 1974 (Think Big), 1975 (Think Big), 1977 (Gold and Black), 1979 (Hyperno), 1990 (Kingston Rule), 1991 (Let’s Elope), 1996 (Saintly), 1999 (Rogan Josh), and 2008 (Viewed). He also fielded the quinella of the race five times (1965, 1966, 1974, 1975, 1991).
How big is the Melbourne Cup field?
The field is currently limited to 24 runners, making it one of the biggest fields in Australian racing. Of course, sometimes there are less runners due to late scratchings. Believe it or not, the largest Melbourne Cup field consisted of a whopping 39 runners back in 1890! The smallest field to contest the race? There were just seven in 1963.
Has the Melbourne Cup always been run at Flemington?
Yep! The richest two-mile handicap in the world has always been run at the famous Flemington racecourse, but it wasn’t always held on a Tuesday — that didn’t become a tradition until 1875. Before that, it was actually run on a Thursday, and in three of the five years during World War II (1942, 1943 and 1944) it was held on a Saturday.
Which barrier has produced the most Melbourne Cup winners?
While there have been 163 editions of the race, barriers were not introduced until 1924. Nevertheless, barriers five and 14 have been the most successful, producing eight winners each.
In 2021, Verry Elleegant made history by winning the race from barrier 18, becoming the first horse to triumph from this position.
The barrier now with the longest drought is six, having not produced a winner since Light Fingers in 1965.
Since 2000, nine of the 23 winners have come from barriers between 10-14, with no gate to produce more than two winners since the turn of the century. Seven barriers are still winless in that time, those being two, six, 15, 16, 20, 23, and 24.
What about Melbourne Cup saddlecloths?
Horses that have been assigned with the No. 4 saddle have been the most successful with 12 wins, Verry Elleegant the most recent in 2021. Numbers one and 12 each have 11 wins, while No. 6 has 10. As for the unluckiest numbers — seven, 16, 18, and 21 have the least amount of wins with two each.
What’s the record Melbourne Cup winning time?
Kingston Rule (1990) holds the current record for the 3200m race with a time of 3:16.3. But the biggest winning margin is shared by Archer (1862) and Rain Lover (1968) with eight lengths. For comparison, last year’s winner, Without A Fight, won the race with a time of 3:18.37, the eighth-fastest time on record.
This century, the slowest winning time was the second of Makybe Diva’s three straight wins, running it in 3:28.55 in 2004 — the track was very rain-affected, though.
Archer and Lantern both took 3:52.00 to win in 1961 and 1964 respectively, the slowest winning time on record.
Has there ever been a dead heat in the Melbourne Cup?
Not yet! But there have certainly been some tight finishes, and you don’t need to think back too far. In 2011, Dunaden beat home Red Cadeaux by just millimetres in a memorable, heart-stopping photo finish. There was also a thriller three years prior when Cummings’ Viewed held off a fast-finishing Bauer by the barest of margins in 2008.
The first photo finish was back in 1948 when Rimfire won from Dark Marne, perhaps controversially, but that’s a story for another day…
What’s the essential weight a horse needs to carry to be a winning Melbourne Cup chance?
There is no ‘essential’ weight, per se, but weight is still a factor. And even then, the best horses usually still win regardless.
Firstly, because the race is run under handicap conditions, each horse will be allocated a weight by the handicapper which is based on a number of key factors such as sex, age and past performances, as a way of levelling out the field.
The largest weight carried to victory was 66kgs by Carbine in 1890, while the lightest-weighted winner was Banker who had just 33.5kgs on his back in 1863.
Since 2010, the average weight carried by a winning horse is just over 54kgs. In that time, Gold Trip (2022) has won with 57.5kgs, and Cross Counter (2018) has won with 51kgs. In fact, in the past four years, 55.5kgs is the lightest weight carried to Melbourne Cup victory.
What aged horse has had the most success in the Melbourne Cup?
Four-year-olds have the best record in the race with 45 winners, while five-year-olds have won the race 44 times, together accounting for almost 55% of all winners.
In saying that, last year’s winner, Without A Fight, won as a seven-year-old, while Gold Trip (2022) and Verry Elleegant (2021) were both six. In 2020, Irish raider Twilight Payment became just the third eight-year-old to win the race, and the first since Catalogue in 1938.
Skipton (1941) was the last three-year-old to win, but both Cross Counter (2018) and Rekindling (2017), although officially listed as four-year-olds, were both European three-year-olds at the time they won.
Do mares or stallions have a better record in the Melbourne Cup?
Stallions (or entires) have dominated the Melbourne Cup with 72 wins, as have geldings with 55. Only 14 mares have won the race, Verry Elleegant in 2021 the most recent — and she was the first to do so since Makybe Diva’s third Cup win in 2005.
Who is the favourite to win this year’s Melbourne Cup?
As of 9am [AEDT] Oct. 28, Chris Waller’s Via Sistina is the current favourite after her stunning Cox Plate win in which she broke the track record previously set by champion mare Winx, while Jan Brueghel has been a hyped runner ever since trainer Aidan O’Brien revealed the inexperienced colt by Galileo would be his sole contender for this year’s race. Last year’s favourite Vauban, Caulfield Cup runner-up Buckaroo, and Geelong Cup winner Onesmoothoperator are also among the key chances.
What prize money is on offer?
The Melbourne Cup is worth $8 million, with the winner receiving $4.4 million. Trainers receive 10% of the winnings, jockeys 5%, and 85% goes to the owners of the horse. The second-placed runner earns $1.1 million, third takes $550,000, fourth $350,000, fifth $230,000, and sixth to 12th $160,000.
What is the biggest crowd to attend the Melbourne Cup?
The very first edition of the race welcomed 4,000 racegoers, but the record attendance was set when 2003 attracted 122,736 spectators. That figure dipped to 98,161 the following year, before the next 11 years saw crowds in six figures. Due to COVID-19, there were no patrons on course in 2020, while the crowd capacity was capped at 10,000 just for 2021.
Last year, the official attendance at Flemington was 84,492 — up 14.5% from 2022.
How can you watch the race in 2024?
Channel Nine has the free-to-air rights to the Melbourne Cup this year, as well as the rest of the carnival (Derby Day on November 2, Oaks Day on November 7, and Champions Stakes Day on November 9), after striking a six-year deal with the VRC and Tabcorp. It will also be available on the TAB app, Sky Racing, and Racing.com.
Make sure to also stay tuned to ESPN.com.au for a complete form guide and Cup day tips.
As the Vegas Golden Knights absorb being knocked out in the second round of the NHL playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers, they don’t have to wait long before planning for their future. Jack Eichel, who has one season left on his eight-year, $80 million contract, is eligible for an extension beginning July 1.
“He’s one of the top guys in the NHL,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He’s got great character, great leadership. You see night in, night out what he does for our team, so that will be a really important piece of business for us. We certainly hope to keep Jack in our organization. Jack loves it here, so I would hope we could find common ground.”
Eichel, 28, comes off the best season of his 10-year career, the past four with the Golden Knights. He set career highs with 66 assists and 94 points to go with 28 goals as the center on the team’s top line. He also skated for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off, where his club finished second to Canada.
“Can’t say enough about my teammates and the people in this building and the people that make this organization what it is,” Eichel said. “I’m super proud to be part of this organization and the city and represent the Vegas Golden Knights. Contractually, I think things kind of take care of itself. I’ll just worry about trying to prepare for next season this offseason and go from there.”
Management, which is not known for sitting on its hands, will have other significant decisions to make as well on the team’s direction after the Golden Knights were eliminated in the second round for the second year in a row.
“I like our team,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I don’t have a problem with any player in that room. I think every one of them is a great teammate. They care about one another. Are there areas of our game we could complement better? Probably. We’ll evaluate that.
“All the guys that were up, their contracts, they were all good players for us. All good players. No disappointments at all. We’ll probably have to look at areas because we’re not the last team standing. Usually, you think, ‘Where can we upgrade? Where can I upgrade what I do?'”
McCrimmon offered a similar assessment.
“I feel our team was good enough to win,” McCrimmon said.
The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup two years ago and thought they had another contender this season after capturing the Pacific Division and securing the Western Conference’s second-best record. But Vegas had to rally from a 2-1 series deficit to beat Minnesota in the opening round, winning twice in overtime. Then the Golden Knights lost two overtime games in the 4-1 series loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
“I didn’t walk away from Edmonton saying, ‘We had no chance. They’re just better,'” Cassidy said. “I didn’t feel that way. I felt we needed to execute better in a few of the games and we could be the team moving on.”
Forward William Karlsson said losing to the Oilers made it “a wasted season.” McCrimmon wasn’t as blunt, instead labeling the loss as “a missed opportunity.”
Change will come, but at least given the tenor of the comments by Cassidy and McCrimmon, the Golden Knights will largely return their roster intact next season.
“I think we have a great organization,” goaltender Adin Hill said. “Best management I’ve been under. I think they’re going to do the things that they see fit for [the] roster, whether it’s keeping it the same or whether it’s changing up a few things. I don’t know. That’s their decision, above my paygrade, but it will be exciting to see. We know that we’re going to be contenders every year.”
Forward Reilly Smith made it clear he wants to return. An original Golden Knight, Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins after winning the Stanley Cup and then sent to the New York Rangers a year later. The Golden Knights reacquired the 34-year-old on March 6.
Smith made a smooth transition back into the lineup with three goals and eight assists in 21 games. Then he delivered the play of the postseason for the Golden Knights, scoring with 0.4 seconds left to beat the Oilers in Game 3, and finished with three goals and an assist in 11 playoff games.
“Probably the best hockey I’ve played in my career has been wearing this jersey,” Smith said. “It’s a fun group to be a part of and a fun place to call home. My family loves it here, so if there’s a way to make it work, it’d be great. At the end of the day, it’s a business. My contract negotiations, I probably know as little as [the media does] right now.”
ARLINGTON, Va. — Alex Ovechkin said Saturday that he intends to return to the Washington Capitals for his 21st NHL season after breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goal-scoring record earlier this spring.
Ovechkin joked about joining the minor league Hershey Bears for their playoff run and indicated the question wasn’t whether he would be back but rather whether he had what it takes to earn a spot.
“First of all, [I have] to make a roster at 40 years old,” Ovechkin quipped on locker cleanout day, less than 48 hours after he and the Capitals were eliminated in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Ovechkin, who turns 40 in September, has one season left on the five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in 2021. He said he is approaching the summer like any other, planning to train the same way in the offseason and see where things go.
“I’m going to use those couple months [in the offseason] to rest, enjoy my life, then back to work,” Ovechkin said. “Me and [trainer Pavel Burlachenko are] going do our job to get ready for the season and just do my best.”
Ovechkin is coming off a whirlwind season in which he overcame a broken leg to score 44 goals — the third most in the league — and pass Gretzky’s career mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable. The Russian superstar has 897.
“For him to come back this year and play the way that he did, chase down this record, the start that he had, breaking his leg, coming back from that, and just continuing to not only do things he did individually, statistically, but lead our team — that’s part of the story that will be a minor part of it, but it’s a big part of it,” coach Spencer Carbery said after the Game 5 loss to the Hurricanes on Thursday night. “He did what he came back this year to prove and show, and he did it in the playoffs as well. I tip my cap to ‘O’ and the season that he had and as our captain leading the way.”
Ovechkin led the team with five goals in 10 games this postseason but had just one goal in the second round as he and the team fell short of the Eastern Conference finals for the 15th time in 16 appearances during his career. The other time was their Stanley Cup run in 2018, when Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Going into next season, Ovechkin wants to work toward chasing a second championship.
“I’m looking forward for next year,” Ovechkin said. “I’m going to try to do my best to play, and my team is going to help me too. … I just want to come back next year and see the team who’s capable of winning the Stanley Cup.”
Beyond that, he’s not sure what the future holds when his contract comes to an end.
“I haven’t thought about it yet, but we’ll see what’s going to happen,” Ovechkin said. “I’m going to try to do my best to be able to do well next year, and we’ll see.”
Longtime teammate Tom Wilson, guesses “900 and beyond” on the goal counter is coming next for Ovechkin.
“At no point am I thinking in my head that there’s ever going to be a day without Ovi on the Caps,” Wilson said. “He’s still flying out there. He had an incredible season. I think he probably exceeded expectations and beyond. You can never count that guy out. He’s such a tremendous leader. I’m sure he’s going to keep buzzing.”
BALTIMORE — Journalism won the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, coming from behind down the stretch to make good on the lofty expectations of being the odds-on favorite in the middle leg of the Triple Crown two weeks after finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby.
Finishing first in a field of nine horses that did not include Sovereignty but featured some of the best competition in the country, Journalism gave trainer Michael McCarthy his second Preakness victory. It is Umberto Rispoli’s first in a Triple Crown race, and he is the first jockey from Italy to win one of them.
Gosger was second by a half-length after getting passed by Journalism just before the wire. Sandman was third and Goal Oriented fourth. Journalism went 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.37.
Journalism thrived on a warm day that dried out the track after torrential rain fell at Pimlico Race Course for much of the past week. Those conditions suited him better than the slop at Churchill Downs in the Derby.
Sovereignty did not take part after his owners and trainer Bill Mott decided to skip the Preakness, citing the two-week turnaround, and aimed for the Belmont on June 7. That made this a fifth time in seven years that the Preakness, for various reasons, was contested without a Triple Crown bid at stake.
But Journalism staked his claim for 3-year-old horse of the year by winning the $2 million American classic race run at the old Pimlico Race Course for the last time before it’s torn down and rebuilt. The Preakness is set to be held at nearby Laurel Park, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., next year before a planned return to the new Pimlico in 2027.
Journalism is the first horse to win the Preakness after running in the Kentucky Derby since Mark Casse-trained War of Will in 2019. Only two others from the 19 in the Derby participated in the Preakness: Casse’s Sandman and fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas’ American Promise.
Lukas, the 89-year-old who has saddled the most horses in Preakness history, referred to McCarthy once this week as “the new guy.” This was just McCarthy’s second, and he’s 2 for 2 after Rombauer sprung the upset as an 11-1 long shot in 2021.
