You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.
2026 Melbourne Cup Preview
The Melbourne Cup is open to three-year-old runners or older. It is run over two miles at Flemington Racecourse, a left-handed track on the turf. The race is known as 'the race that stops a nation' and is the most valuable two-mile handicap in the world.
The race is part of the Melbourne Spring Carnival. The race was first run back in 1861, and in 2025 had a purse of $10 million! Winners of the Doncaster Cup and Irish St Leger are eligible for guaranteed entry in the race.
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Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Melbourne Cup Information:
You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival section for links to these.
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How competitive is the Melbourne Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2009, when the race had an over-round of 110%. The race in 2020 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 121%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Melbourne Cup, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Melbourne Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Melbourne Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Melbourne Cup races over the last 20 renewals:
- Twilight Payment (3:17.34) in 2020
- Verry Elleegant (3:17.43) in 2021
- Protectionist (3:17.71) in 2014
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Melbourne Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 20 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -8.50. Why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?
The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2010 renewal when Americain from A De Royer-Dupre under the guidance of Gerald Mosse, won in a time of 3:26.87, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Twilight Payment, trained by Joseph Patrick O'Brien and ridden by Jye McNeil set the quickest time of 3:17.34 in the 2020 renewal.
Melbourne Cup Past Winners
Here are the Melbourne Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed are the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Melbourne Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 3:22.46 | Half Yours (AUS) 5yo 8-5 (8 of 24) 8/1 | Jamie Melham Tony McEvoy & Calvin McEvoy (AUS) |
| 2024 3:19.53 | Knights Choice (AUS) 5yo 8-2 (5 of 23) 90/1 | Robbie Dolan John Symons & Sheila Laxon (AUS) |
| 2023 3:18.37 | Without A Fight (IRE) 6yo 8-13 (16 of 23) 7/1 | Mark Zahra Anthony & Sam Freedman (AUS) |
| 2022 3:24.04 | Gold Trip (FR) 5yo 9-1 (13 of 22) 20/1 | Mark Zahra Ciaron Maher & David Eustace (AUS) |
| 2021 3:17.43 | Verry Elleegant (NZ) 6yo 9-0 (18 of 23) 17/1 | James McDonald Chris Waller (AUS) |
| 2020 3:17.34 | Twilight Payment (IRE) 7yo 8-10 (12 of 23) 25/1 | Jye McNeil Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2019 3:24.76 | Vow And Declare (AUS) 4yo 8-3 (21 of 24) 10/1 | Craig A Williams Danny O'Brien (AUS) |
| 2018 3:21.17 | Cross Counter (GB) 3yo 8-0 (19 of 24) 8/1 | Kerrin McEvoy Charlie Appleby (GB) |
| 2017 3:21.19 | Rekindling (GB) 3yo 8-2 (4 of 23) 14/1 | Corey Brown Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2016 3:20.58 | Almandin (GER) 6yo 8-3 (17 of 24) 10/1 | Kerrin McEvoy Robert Hickmott (AUS) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Melbourne Cup have been based:
- AUS: 13 winners with an additional 29 placings from 282 runners
- IRE: 2 winners with an additional 10 placings from 47 runners
- FR: 2 winners with an additional 1 placing from 10 runners
- GB: 1 winner with an additional 15 placings from 73 runners
- JPN: 1 winner with an additional 2 placings from 12 runners
- GER: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 4 runners
- NZ: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 22 runners
- HK: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 8 runners
- SIN: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
- SAF: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
- USA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
2025 Melbourne Cup Replay
Melbourne Cup Trainer Statistics
Two trainers have led the Melbourne Cup over the last 20 renewals, with both Robert Hickmott and Joseph Patrick O'Brien winning the race twice. Robert Hickmott's winners have been Green Moon (2012) and Almandin (2016). Joseph Patrick O'Brien winners have been with Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Melbourne Cup. A P O'Brien (0-17), Saeed bin Suroor (0-12), W P Mullins (0-12), Michael Moroney (0-11), Luca Cumani (0-11) and Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott (0-11) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Here are some of the top Melbourne Cup trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Hickmott | 21-2-3 | +10.00 | +1.51 |
| Joseph Patrick O'Brien | 12-2-4 | +29.00 | +23.51 |
| Chris Waller | 40-1-7 | -22.00 | +4.57 |
| Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 18-1-4 | +3.00 | +6.38 |
| Danny O'Brien | 17-1-3 | -6.00 | -4.24 |
| Bart Cummings | 12-1-2 | +29.00 | +14.75 |
| Gai Waterhouse | 10-1-2 | -3.00 | -1.00 |
| Darren Weir | 7-1-3 | +94.00 | +60.88 |
| Anthony & Sam Freedman | 5-1-1 | +3.00 | +0.38 |
| Graeme Rogerson | 4-1-3 | +13.00 | +9.94 |
Melbourne Cup Jockey Statistics
There are multiple leading jockeys in the Melbourne Cup over the last 20 renewals, with Kerrin McEvoy, Corey Brown, and Mark Zahra having all won the race twice. Kerrin McEvoy winners have been Almandin (2016) and Cross Counter (2018). Corey Brown winners have been with Shocking (2009) and Rekindling (2017). Mark Zahra winners have been Gold Trip (2022) and Without A Fight (2023). Multiple jockeys have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Melbourne Cup; Craig Newitt (0-12), Dwayne Dunn (0-11) and Hugh Bowman (0-11) have all failed to produce a single winner despite having multiple rides in the race.
Here are some of the top Melbourne Cup jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerrin McEvoy | 17-2-6 | +3.00 | +6.24 |
| Corey Brown | 9-2-4 | +16.00 | +12.38 |
| Mark Zahra | 8-2-2 | +21.00 | +10.88 |
| Craig A Williams | 18-1-3 | -7.00 | -7.12 |
| Damien Oliver | 16-1-3 | -9.00 | -9.06 |
| James McDonald | 11-1-3 | +7.00 | +5.38 |
| Blake Shinn | 9-1-1 | +32.00 | +17.00 |
| Michael Rodd | 9-1-2 | +8.00 | +6.25 |
| Brett Prebble | 8-1-3 | +12.00 | +8.62 |
| Ryan Moore | 8-1-1 | +0.00 | -2.62 |
2026 Melbourne Cup Trends
Favourites' finishing positions (oldest to latest): (2, 19), 8, 7, 6, 3, 4, 14, 1, 22, 13, 3, (9, 12), 11, 7, 13, 2, 4, 14, 9, 19
The percentage shown is the proportion of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well. The trend information is based on the available information on the Racing Post in terms of previous runs, etc.
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Achieved an RPR of 104+ (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - No bigger than 16/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Not in a LST/Cl2-5 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Ran in 4 - 9 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Ran over 1m - 1m7f (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Beaten no more -7l (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Ran in 3 - 8 races (Season)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Highest Placed is not G3/LST/Cl2
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Furthest ran 1m4f - 2m
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Highest Won is not LST/Cl2/Cl4-5
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Won by at least a head (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Fewer than 12 races (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Not in CAN/DEU/HKG/ITA/NZL/SCO/UAE/USA (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Achieved an RPR of 107+ (Season)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Fewer than 4 wins (Hcps)
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2026 Melbourne Cup Runners & Shortlist
The runners and the final trends shortlist for the 2026 renewal of the Melbourne Cup will be added once the final declarations are confirmed, which are usually made 48 hours before the race.
Melbourne Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +146.50, is when runners had 0 career starts over the trip.
❌ The worst-performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 2 career starts over the trip; when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-55.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 8 (20,13,14) [24 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 5 (2,9,3) [23 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 16 (4,22,11) [23 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 13 (3,8,9) [22 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 18 (15,14,10) [23 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the Melbourne Cup is Moonee Valley; there have been a total of 6 winners of this race who ran at Moonee Valley last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Caulfield; there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Caulfield last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 19 winners from a total of 411 runners, while female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 51 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Melbourne Cup:
- Monsun (3 Wins)
- Teofilo (3 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Melbourne Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Galileo (0 Wins from 41 runners)
- Frankel (0 Wins from 10 runners)
- Authorized (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Dansili (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Fastnet Rock (0 Wins from 7 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Prince Of Penzance in 2015, winning for Darren Weir at odds of 100/1 under the guidance of Michelle Payne. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 1 winning favourites in the race. All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs, are based on the information that is available on the Racing Post.
Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival
Here are the other races that take place at the Flemington Racetrack during the Melbourne Cup Carnival that we also cover in our blogs.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Coolmore Stud Stakes | Tentyris (AUS) 3yo - 19/10 | Anthony & Sam Freedman Mark Zahra |
| Empire Rose Stakes | Pride Of Jenni (AUS) 8yo - 19/5 | Ciaron Maher Declan Bates |
| Victoria Derby | Observer (AUS) 3yo - 29/20 | Ciaron Maher Mark Zahra |
| Melbourne Cup | Half Yours (AUS) 5yo - 8/1 | Tony McEvoy & Calvin McEvoy Jamie Melham |
| Crown Oaks | Strictly Business (AUS) 3yo - 13/2 | Thomas D Carberry John Allen |
| VRC Champions Mile | Ceolwulf (NZ) 5yo - 4/1 | Joseph Pride Chad Schofield |
| VRC Champions Sprint | Giga Kick (AUS) 6yo - 4/1 | Clayton Douglas Mark Zahra |
| VRC Champions Stakes | Via Sistina (IRE) 7yo - 4/5 | Chris Waller James McDonald |
Article Contributor Information
We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Melbourne Cup Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for International racing.
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