Melbourne Cup Betting News

2024 Melbourne Cup Results: Winner Knight’s Choice at Big Odds Beats Warp Speed

• Race Day Melbourne Cup 2024 Odds Update: Market Movers
• Melbourne Cup Day 2024: Flemington Race Scratchings & Track Report
• Athabascan Scratched from Melbourne Cup 2024, Lloyd Without Ride
• Can Vauban Salute for Punters in the Melbourne Cup 2024?
• Can Waller Win Second Melbourne Cup in 2024 With Buckaroo?

2024 Melbourne Cup Results

The 2024 Melbourne Cup results will be known when the race runs on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. 

• 1st: #11 Knight’s Choice ($91)
• 2nd: #4 Warp Speed
• 3rd: #12 Okita Soushi
• 4th: #14 Zardozi

The John Symons & Shelia Laxon-trained Queenslander, Knight’s Choice ($91), flashed home from the back late with Robbie Dolan aboard to score a thrilling upset in the 2024 Melbourne Cup results narrowly denying the Japanese raider Warp Speed in a remarkable finish.

Okita Soushi for Ciaron Maher ran third with the James Cummings-trained mare Zardozi briefly looking the winner before holding for fourth.

Click here for the full story.

Every spring Australian punters and horse racing fans around the world invest millions of dollars in the Melbourne Cup betting markets hoping for a big payoff!

While the 2024 Melbourne Cup isn’t run until Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Melbourne Cup betting markets are open right now at bookies around the country including our favourite, Ladbrokes.com.au.

Futures Melbourne Cup betting is a great way to lock in juicy Melbourne Cup odds on the horses likely run in the 24-starter Melbourne Cup field when the iconic clash takes place at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.

2024 Melbourne Cup Betting

Visit Ladbrokes.com.au for the latest Melbourne Cup 2024 odds on the official 2024 Melbourne Cup Field once final acceptances close on Derby Day.

2024 Melbourne Cup Tips

Our insider Melbourne Cup 2024 Betting Tips will be updated below the week of the race so stay tuned for the spring stayers to back and sack in the two mile classic.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE 2024 MELBOURNE CUP TIPS & BEST BETS ON THE CUP

To Win: #13 Onesmoothoperator ($8 at time of publish) 

Onesmoothoperator is short in the Melbourne Cup markets and deservedly so regardless of the scare in the lead-up.

He had a heel cut but was reshoed and re-examined with RV vets passing him fit.

With how stringent they’ve been in ruling horses out, if this guy wasn’t right to run he wouldn’t be lining-up.

Brian Ellison-trained in the UK he made an immediate impact down under winning the Ladbrokes Geelong Cup by over two lengths.

Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010), Dunaden (2011) all did the Geelong Cup – Melbourne Cup double as visitors down under and there’s plenty to suggest this in-form Dialied In gelding, who is US bred as was Americain, can be the next.

He is down to just 51kg even with the penalty and big race specialist Craig Williams, who rode Vow And Declare to victory in 2019, retains the ride having locked in this mount right after the Geelong demolition job.

That’s a pretty great endorsement and one that’s seen the market react accordingly.

Looking at his form back home before arriving on Aussie shores, one of his top performances was a seventh in the Ebor. That is one hell of a form race (see Sea King in the Bendigo Cup).

To Challenge: #2 Buckaroo ($6.50 at time of publish) 

Trainer Chris Waller chases his second Melbourne Cup success saddling-up Tuesday’s one-time favourite Buckaroo who presents as the genuine danger despite being yet to win over further than 1800m.

He has been leading the markets for a few weeks but has eased out now post-barrier draw when getting posted out in gate 21.

The ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira will need to slot in and find his position early from the alley, but the past six Melbourne Cup winners have all saluted from double-digits including Vow And Declare (2019) from this alley.

He looks very well weighted with 54.5kg in the compressed weights in a race lacking depth this year.

The distance is obviously a query, but the way he charged through the line for a Caulfield Cup second over 2400m last time out with the same weight was eye-catching.

The Caulfield Cup historically is the superior form line into the Melbourne Cup and could prove to be again in 2024.

You cannot say he’s not going great guns since being gelded.

Put 3.5 lengths on his closest rival in the Group 1 Underwood over 1800m with 59kg at WFA and then went down the barest of margins here in the Group 1 Turnbull over 2000m behind stablemate Via Sistina.

What she went on to do in the Cox Plate was astronomical and bodes very well for this guy.

If he runs it out, he wins.

To Feature: #12 Okita Soushi ($11 at time of publish) 

Okita Soushi lined-up as an Irish-trained raider for Joseph O’Brien in the race last year and returns now with top trainer Ciaron Maher.

Cannot believe the move on this guy since the field and barriers were locked in Saturday evening.

Preferred the better 20/1 offering but he has been absolutely smashed into $11 now, and still finding it hard not to follow that money trail with lots of boxes ticked by this guy.

He is more seasoned, acclimatised, and has the benefit of a year down under in his second attempt.

Eleventh last year from gate 20, he is drawn for a sweet run this season in barrier 10.

Some of the punters’ money is explained by the booking of Jamie Kah following her outstanding Saturday last weekend that included the VRC Derby victory on Goldrush Guru.

She is riding in outstanding style and this Galileo entire is going equally as good coming off a Ladbrokes Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m) win under the lights.

Has won over the two miles so no distance queries, comes back to 51kg, and the black silks statistically are a good thing!

To Improve: #4 Warp Speed ($23 at time of publish) 

Warp Speed from Japan was one of the big hype Melbourne Cup hopes earlier in the season and one of the early favourites.

That was until he ran in the Caulfield Cup and performed like he was just having a barrier trial at best.

The Drefong six-year-old was flat, no arguing with that, when 13th beaten over 16 lengths.

Since then he’s been left alone in betting for the second leg of the Spring Cups in Australia, but still think he could give a much better performance at Flemington.

Delta Blues (2006) is the only Japanese-trained Melbourne Cup winner to date.

Not saying Warp Speed will be the second, but if you look back over his form at home that includes a fifth in the prestigious Tenno Sho with plenty of weight and winning form up to 3000m, then there’s plenty to indicate huge improvement at a price.

He’s shaken off the cobwebs and has settled right in at Melbourne and gets a sweet run from barrier three.

Got a Slow track at Caulfield and will appreciate the Good going for Australia’s biggest race day.

His trainer remains confident and think he’ll be right there when it counts.

To Surprise: #8 Land Legend ($20 at time of publish) 

Land Legend is one of five for Waller and he’s at an incredible price really considering he is more than double that of Buckaroo despite his form being equally as impressive this season.

The Galileo five-year-old beat Zardozi narrowly to win the Group 1 The Metrop (2400m) with a light weight in Sydney two back and then ran out of his skin for a Caulfield Cup third.

He might of been six lengths off the winner but he was finishing off strongly and there’s suggestions he might even see out the two miles better than his better fancied stablemate Buckaroo who was second in the same key lead-up race over the 2400m.

Hong Kong’s Zac Purton rides, barrier 18 might not be ideal but it is the one that produced Waller’s other Cup champion Verry Elleegant when she broke the hoodoo.

When a raider with James Ferguson last year he won the Sydney St. Leger over 2600m in record time by 2.7 lengths.

He’s building to something, and the odds are generous.

View more on the Melbourne Cup Tips on our dedicated page giving your all the info to back the 2024 Melbourne Cup winner.

The count down is on until Melbourne Cup Day on the first Tuesday of November and with the 24-starter Melbourne Cup field set to be released on Saturday, the Melbourne Cup tips are firming.

Early Melbourne Cup tips are usually dominated by dead-set stayers proven at 2400m – 3200m and any horses that ran well in the previous season’s Melbourne Cup results are usually high up Melbourne Cup betting and tipping pre-field.

As the Group 1 $8.56 million Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) approaches the Melbourne Cup tips start to focus on the lead-up form of the horses that season and their performances in lead-up races like the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) and Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m).

Verry Elleegant (3rd in 2021) and Gold Trip (9th in 2022) are the last Cox Plate graduates to back-up and win the Melbourne Cup.

In 2023 Without A Fight became the 12th horse in history and first since 2001 to complete the Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double.

International gallopers are also always a hot Melbourne Cup tip to take to the bookies with raiders boasting a strong recent history running in the Melbourne Cup trifecta.

2024 Melbourne Cup Betting

The fixed-win Melbourne Cup 2024 betting odds are available following the release of the official 24 starter Melbourne Cup Field on the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day.

Melbourne Cup betting really starts to heat up closer to the Melbourne Cup Carnival starting with the Melbourne Cup nominations, which are taken in early September.

With each acceptance stage the Melbourne Cup betting markets and Melbourne Cup odds firm on the horses progressing towards the ‘race that stops a nation’.

In the early Melbourne Cup betting markets the only real bet types open are all-in prices where you back the horse you think will become the Melbourne Cup winner.

Then as the capacity 24-horse Melbourne Cup field starts to become clearer, more and more Melbourne Cup betting odds and options become available at leading betting agencies like Ladbrokes.com.au.

Below we take a look at some of the different Melbourne Cup betting options that you will be able to get in on for the Melbourne Cup 2024.

Melbourne Cup Bets

The Melbourne Cup is the richest “two-mile” horse race in the world with prize money of more than AUD$8.56 million to be won in the 2024 Melbourne Cup. While that prize pool is certainly impressive, it does not compare to the size of the Melbourne Cup betting pools built as a result of punters all over the world placing one or multiple Melbourne Cup bets.

The Melbourne Cup invites one of the largest volumes of wagers for a horse race anywhere in the world and is without doubt biggest betting event on the Australian sports calendar. From the time betting opens to the last hour of the race, a constant stream of punters furiously plan the Melbourne Cup betting and make millions of dollars in bets.

Any punter with even the slightest interest in horse racing joins in the Melbourne Cup betting as the wager pool runs into millions of dollars.

Melbourne Cup Betting Options

There are many different Melbourne Cup betting options available for punters. If you are looking to make a wager for the upcoming Melbourne Cup, study each Melbourne Cup betting option and find the best possible odds for you. Melbourne Cup betting options include win bets, place bets, each-way bets, exactas, quinellas, trifectas, and more.

• Win – Most Melbourne Cup betting is wagering on the winner. In a win bet, punters place a wager on the horse they think will win. The best odds for win bets are often found at online sports betting sites.

• Place – Not as common in Melbourne Cup betting as a win bet, place bets are still popular for punters who want to minimise their risk. To win a place bet, your horse simply has to finish first, second or third.

• Each-Way – The each-way bet is actually a win and a place bet on a particular horse, both bets of equal size. This is the ultimate Melbourne Cup betting option for people who want minimal risk. It doesn’t pay of particularly well, though, and most punter would be better off looking into box bets and other exotic betting options.

Melbourne Cup Exotic Bets

Experienced punters can try their luck at complex Melbourne Cup betting options such as quinellas and trifectas. These types of wagers require the punter to pick multiple winners at exactly the same order. Because of the complexity of these wagers, some of them are only available for selected Australian thoroughbred races like the Melbourne Cup.

Here are some of the most popular exotic wagers in the Melbourne Cup:

• Melbourne Cup Quinella – A punter must pick predict the top two winners of the race in any order for the wager to win. Punters usually take the top two favourites when making these bets, but there are many other combinations that punters can choose from.

• Box Quinella – Punters pick more than two horses to win first or second in the race. The more horses the punter selects in his “box”, the higher his chances of winning. In effect, a box quinella is just multiple quinella bets, but is an easier way to cover every combination of your preferred runners. These bets are easiest to make at an online betting sites, where you can quickly get help from support staff if you need it.

• Melbourne Cup Exacta – Like the quinella, punters must pick two horses to run first and second, but in exact finishing order. The exacta is harder to pick than a quinella, with the advantage that it pays out significantly better.

• Box Exacta – Just as with the box quinella, the box exacta allows punters to choose a field of 2 or more horses, and it covers every exacta combination of those horses.

• Melbourne Cup Trifecta – Punters pick the first three finishers in exact order. It is quite an achievement to pick the Melbourne Cup Trifecta outright, so most punters go with a box trifecta instead.

• Box Trifecta – Punters pick any number of horses from 3 to the field limit, and then cover every trifecta combination of those runners.

• Melbourne Cup First Four – Punters pick the first four finishers in exact order. Again, getting this right is hard, so punters usually take this as a box bet.

• Box First Four – Punters pick a number of horses from 4 to the field limit, and then cover every First Four combination of those horses.

Online sports betting websites and bookmakers provide Melbourne Cup betting odds so that punters around the world can wager without going to Flemington. For many punters, online betting is a good alternative to betting on the racetrack since they can make their wagers from the comfort of their own home and watch live results.

If you plan to do some 2024 Melbourne Cup betting of your own, we recommend joining Ladbrokes.com.au as it offers fantastic odds and an easy-to-use betting interface.