Melbourne Cup 2024: start time, date, field, horses, prize money, who’s the favourite, when will it take place?

The Melbourne Cup – the race that stops the nation – is here again, with 24 local and international horses racing over 3200 meters for a whopping $8 million in prize money.

Here are the key things you need to know ahead of the 164th running of the great race.

START TIME: WHEN IS IT ON?

As always, the first Tuesday of November falls on the 5th this year. This year’s race begins at 3:00 pm ET.

So it’s 15:00 for Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Hobart. The race starts at 1:30pm if you’re in Darwin, 2:00pm in Brisbane and 2:30pm in Adelaide.

HOW CAN I WATCH THE MELBOURNE CUP?

Channel Nine broadcasts the Melbourne Cup Carnival, including the feature race itself.

You can also stream Saturday’s Hurdle draw and more live on Racing.com on Kayo or watch the racing channels on Foxtel.

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WHO’S ON THE FIELD?

This issue has not yet been finalized, but you can view the latest entry procedure here.

According to Racenet, the last field might look something like this:

1 – VAUBAN (trainer: Willie Mullins; jockey: William Buick) 55.5 kg

2. – BUKARU (Chris Waller; Joao Moreira) 54.5 kg

3 – CIRCLE OF FIRE (Ciaron Maher, Mark Zara) 54.5 kg

4 – WARP SPEED (Noboru Takagi; Akira Sugawara) 54 kg

5 – KOWALIKA (Chris Waller, Damian Lane) 53.5 kg

6 – SHARP ‘N’ SMART (Graham and Deborah Rogerson, Michael Dee) 53.5 kg

7 – JUST FINE (Guy Waterhouse and Adrian Bott; Jay McNeil) 53 kg

8 – LAND LEGEND (Chris Waller; Zach Purton) 53 kg

9 – ABSURD (Willie Mullins; Kerryn McAvoy) 52.5 kg

10 – ATHABASCAN (John O’Shea and Tom Charlton; Zach Lloyd) 52 kg

11 – MAKHRAJAN (Sean Ritchie and Colm Murray; Declan Bates) 52 kg

12 – KNIGHT’S CHOICE (John Simons and Sheila Lacson; Robbie Dolan) 51.5 kg

13 – OKITA SUSHI (Ciaron Maher; Jamie Ka) 51 kg

14 – ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (Brian Ellison; Craig Williams) 51 kg

15 – MURAMASA (Trent Busattin and Natalie Young; Tyler Schiller) 51 kg

16 – ZARDOZI (James Cummings; Andrea Atzeni) 51 kg

17 – VALIANT KING (Chris Waller; Craig Newitt) 50.5 kg

18 – INTERPRETATION (Ciaron Maher; Theo Nugent) 50 kg

19 – FANCY MAN (Annabel Neesham and Rob Archibald; Ron Stewart), 50 kg

20 – SEA KING (Harry Eustace; Holly Doyle) 50kg*

21 – THE MAP (Dan Clarken and Upi McGillivray; Rachel King), 50 kg

22 – MOSTLY CLOUDY (Trent Busattin and Natalie Young; Carys Titan), 50 kg

23 – POSITIVITY (Andrew Forsman; Winona Costin) 50 kg

24 – MISSION OF LOVE (John Simons and Sheila Lacson; Nikita Beriman) 50 kg

BARAGE HORSES

25 – TRUST IN YOU (Bruce Walls and Grant Cooksley; Mark Du Plessis) 50 kg

26 – ST GEORGE (Ciaron Maher; TBA) 50 kg

27 – BRADEN STAR (Trent Basattin and Natalie Young; Ben Thompson) 50 kg

* Sea King is likely to face a weight penalty for winning the Bendigo Cup on Wednesday.

Scratches are in italics

WHAT PRIZE MONEY IS OFFERED?

Only $8 million, same as last year. It is broken down as follows:

1st place: $4.4 million, 2nd place: $1.1 million, 3rd place: $550,000, 4th place: $350,000, 5th place: $230,000, 6th-12th places: $160,000 USA.

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WHO WINNED LAST YEAR?

No fight won last year’s race in stunning fashion and completed a rare Australian racing double by becoming just the 11th horse to win the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup in the same year.

The victory also confirmed a difficult decision made by jockey Mark Zahra, who decided to ride the eventual winner ahead of Gold Trip, whom he rode to victory in the 2023 race.

It was clearly the right call, with a $7 roll taking home the win, while $10 hope Soulcombe finished second and $126 outsider Sheraz finished third in a huge shock.

WHO are the favorites this year?

The news that Cox Plate winner Via Sistina will bypass the Melbourne Cup means the Chris Waller-trained import. Buckaroo remained the $5 favorite in Tuesday’s race.

The horse headed into the Caulfield Cup with some concerns about whether he could run the 2400 metres, but finished strongly to finish second to Duke De Sesse.

Buckaroo fights favoritism with fellow English raider One smooth operator ($6), who achieved a brilliant victory in the Geelong Cup.

Vauban, last year’s favorite before finishing 14th will cost $8 more next time Sea King ($10), who impressed by winning the Bendigo Cup on Wednesday.