AUSTRALASIA · TUESDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2026
Flemington, Melbourne. 3200 metres. $10 million.
Melbourne takes a public holiday for a horse race. The Melbourne Cup is two miles, 3200 metres, run on a Tuesday afternoon at Flemington, and it is the one race a year the whole country stops to watch.
It is a handicap: the better a horse’s record, the more weight it carries, which is meant to give every runner a chance. That is why big fields, outsiders who win and overseas raiders are part of the story most years.
The facts
- When: Tuesday 3 November 2026
- Where: Flemington, Melbourne
- Distance: 3200 metres, about two miles
- Prizemoney: $10 million, Australian dollars, the level set from 2025
- Conditions: Group 1 handicap
How Turfling covers it
The Australasia brief follows the qualifying races and the ballot every morning. On Instagram we ask you to call the winner the day before and post the result the day after. Percentages and picks only, never odds.
Every brief on the Melbourne Cup
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5–7 minutes
Melham booked for Blind Raise as the Cox Plate call nears
Jamie Melham will ride Blind Raise at 49.5kg in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Flemington on 24 October if the Caulfield Guineas runner up takes his place, with Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young to decide in the next few days.
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5–7 minutes
Warwoven completes the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas double
Warwoven became the fourth horse to complete the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas double, beating Blind Raise by a length and three quarters in Saturday’s $3 million Caulfield Guineas.
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7–11 minutes
Daryz retires to stud after a second Arc
Aga Khan Studs have retired the dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Daryz, with the choice between Haras de Bonneval in France and Gilltown Stud in Kildare still to be made.
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8–12 minutes
Luster crosses the border for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup
Luster, the King’s Plate winner, heads eleven fillies into Saturday’s Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, the 43rd running and worth 750,000 dollars.
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5–8 minutes
Warwoven and Blind Raise collide in the Caulfield Guineas
The Golden Rose winner Warwoven makes his Melbourne debut against the unbeaten New Zealand bred Blind Raise in Saturday’s $3 million Caulfield Guineas.
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4–7 minutes
Book 1 goes into its final day with average and median still rising
Tattersalls said the average and median rose again on the second day of Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale, where a 4,000,000 guineas Frankel colt out of Shambolic headed a top five that each reached 1,500,000 guineas.
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4–6 minutes
Coolmore and Chris Waller Racing name their Everest runners
Giga Kick will carry the Coolmore slot in The Everest and Joliestar runs for Chris Waller Racing, both confirmed on Wednesday for the 17 October sprint at Royal Randwick.
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5–8 minutes
Ka Ying Rising beaten a neck in his Everest trial at Randwick
Ninja beat the champion sprinter by a neck in a Randwick barrier trial on Tuesday, and David Hayes says the soft ground and longer grass were against him.
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5–7 minutes
Bjorn Baker keeps Warwoven in Sydney before the Caulfield Guineas
The Golden Rose winner stays north for his Caulfield Guineas preparation, with a Cox Plate start at Flemington possible if Saturday goes well.
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6–8 minutes
Tempted wins the Premiere Stakes by three lengths before the Everest
Godolphin’s Tempted won Saturday’s Group 2 Premiere Stakes at Royal Randwick by three lengths and is expected to fill the stable’s slot in The Everest.
More big races: The Everest · Cox Plate · Breeders’ Cup · New to racing