Melbourne Cup Field & Barrier Draw Info

Melbourne Cup tips

Melbourne Cup Field & Barrier Draw 2024

The 2024 Melbourne Cup final field is released on Saturday, November 2 following the Victoria Derby Day, three days before the Melbourne Cup. It is usually around 6:00pm that the confirmed Melbourne Cup field is announced. The barrier draw takes place an hour later at 7:00pm.

The barrier draw will be available here once it has taken place.

Melbourne Cup Nominations & Declarations

Gaining a start in the Melbourne Cup is neither a simple nor inexpensive process. Horses that have qualified, or are hopeful of qualifying, must firstly be nominated by connections before going through stages of acceptances/declarations. Each stage comes at a cost to connections and only those with a genuine chance are justified in paying the final acceptance fee of nearly $50K. In all, the total cost for all stages of acceptances equates to $59,500 AUD.

Stages Dates Fees
Nominations 12:00pm September 3, 2024 $1500
1st Declarations 12:00pm October 1, 2024 $1500
2nd Declaration 12:00pm October 15, 2024 $3000
3rd Declaration 12:00pm October 28, 2024 $4000
Final Declaration 6:00pm November 2, 2024 $49,500

When, Where and How does the Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw work?

The Melbourne Cup barrier draw begins at 7:00pm on October 29, 2022, when Derby Day at Flemington has been completed. The process involves connections of each horse selecting one of 24 mini Melbourne Cup trophies that have a barrier number on the base – face down on the selection table. The number revealed is the barrier that connection’s horse will jump from.

Melbourne Cup barrier statistics – Winners from the past 20 Years

Year Horse Barrier Weight
2023 Without a fight 10 56.5kg
2022 Gold Trip 13 57.5kg
2021 Verry Elleegant 18 57kg
2020 Twilight Payment 12 55.5kg
2019 Vow And Declare 21 52kg
2018 Cross Counter 19 51kg
2017 Rekindling 4 51.5kg
2016 Almandin 17 52kg
2015 Prince Of Penzance 1 53kg
2014 Protectionist 10 56.5kg
2013 Fiorente 5 55kg
2012 Green Moon 5 54.5kg
2011 Dunaden 13 54.5kg
2010 Americain 11 54.5kg
2009 Shocking 21 51kg
2008 Viewed 8 53kg
2007 Efficient 9 54.5kg
2006 Delta Blues 10 56kg
2005 Makybe Diva 14 58kg
2004 Makybe Diva 7 55.5kg
2003 Makybe Diva 7 51kg
2002 Media Puzzle 3 52.5kg

 

Is there a Draw Bias in the Melbourne Cup?

There really isn’t a barrier bias in the Melbourne Cup and as you can see in the past 20 years, horses have won from the inside (Prince Of Penzance – barrier 1) and out wide (Vow And Declare and Shocking – barrier 21). A long-standing hoodoo was broken in 2021 with Verry Elleegant becoming the first horse to win from barrier 18. Barrier 15 has also only had one success (1973) while barriers 2, 7 and 20 have only produced two winners each. Barrier 5 has been the most successful gate in the Melbourne Cup with eight winners, followed by barrier 11 (7 wins) and 10 and 14 with six wins apiece. Historically, drawing anywhere from barrier 5 to 14 should give your horse the best chance.

Most Successful Melbourne Cup Barriers

Automatic barrier stalls were first used at the Melbourne Cup in 1958 with Baystone winning in a time of 3:21.25 at odds of 10/1.

Barrier  Wins
5 8
11 7
10 7
14 6

 

The Melbourne Cup is one of the most popular horse races in Australia, and it’s no surprise that people are always looking for tips on how to pick a winner. There are a few key things to keep in mind when choosing your Melbourne Cup horse, and our experts have put together their top Melbourne Cup tips & predictions to help you pick a winner on race day.

At racingbase.com.au, you may also check out our best bets in horse racing where our expert tipsters pick out the top betting selections from across Australian horse racing.

 

FREE FLEMINGTON BETTING TIPS

Follow the link to find our free Flemington horse racing tips and best bets for each and every meeting. Our Flemington tipster previews each meeting and highlights a Best Bet, Next Best & Best Value.