We’re taking a look at how to bet on Melbourne Cup horses in 2023. The race that stops a nation is due to take place on Tuesday, November 7 at Flemington Racecourse. The biggest race in Australia is also one of the most renowned races in the world.
Check out the best sites for 2023 Melbourne Cup betting. We also delve into how to place your bets, the types of bets available and of course Melbourne Cup favourites. We’re also offering a strategy for how to bet on Melbourne Cup runners.
Content Index
The Best Betting Sites for the Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup odds are available with a number of top online bookmakers. Each site offers different options for Melbourne Cup betting. We review bookmakers regularly and therefore understand what it takes for a site to be considered good at offering racing bets, especially when you want to bet on Melbourne Cup horses.
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- BETMAX365: Exclusive code
- Fair bonuses and promotions
- 24/7 customer service
Up to $100 in Bet Credits
- Up to $100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Make a qualifying deposit (min $10), place bets to deposit value, once they are settled, matched amount in Bet Credits available to use. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply.
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- Lots of welcome offers
- A plethora of markets & games
- Competitve odds
Get a Free Sports Bet up to $60
- New Customers from New Zealand only. Min Deposit: 10 NZD. First deposit matched up to 60 NZD. 1 x wagering at odds of 1.75+ to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card and Debit Card deposits only. T&Cs Apply
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LeoVegas
- Excellent welcome bonus
- Great range of betting markets
- 24/7 customer support
Matched Free Bet up to $50
- 18+. New customers only. Minimum deposit $20. Place a qualifying bet of $10 or more on odds of 1.8 and receive the free bet once the bet is settled. T&Cs apply.
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- Great mobile app
- Interesting loyalty program
- Strong welcome bonus
Claim your up to €50 welcome bonus
- 18+. The minimum qualifying deposit for this promotion is €15. To be eligible for this promotion, players must input PLAY50 in the ‘Bonus Code’ field when making a qualifying deposit into their Main Cash Account (Balance). Your qualifying deposit and bonus must be wagered five times on: (1) settled single sports bets with odds of at least 1.80; or (2) settled combo bets with odds of at least 1.40 per selection before you can withdraw your bonus and any winnings resulting from it. The wagering requirements must be met within 30 days of your first deposit.10bet’s General Terms and Conditions apply.
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Stake.com
200% Deposit Bonus Offer
- 18+. The bonus is exclusive to new customers and is given only once. Canvassing leads to disqualification and closure of the account. The minimum deposit is $100. The 200% bonus up to $1000 will be credited within 24 hours of depositing and reviewing the account. The wager attached to the bonus is 40x (deposit + bonus). All sportsbook games, and casino, can use up the bonus. The bonus works in tandem to the Stake.com general terms and conditions. Once the bonus is activated, the users can check the rollover competition in the corresponding tab of the VIP section.
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Casumo Sports
100% Cashback as a Free Bet up to $50
- 18+. Only cash bets are valid. Free bets aren’t valid. Min stake $10. Min odd 1.50. Valid on all sports, leagues, events. Valid on mobile & desktop. Cash out isn’t valid for this welcome offer. The player can decide when he would like to activate the cashback offer (tickbox in betslip), if all above conditions are fulfilled. The free bet will remain valid for 7 days. Min odd 1.50. No max winnings. The free bet will appear in the betslip from the moment a valid odd is selected.
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- 24/7 customer support
- Live streaming available
- Large array of betting markets
Bet €10 Get €30 in free bets
- 18+. New customers using Promo code TOP30 only, Min £10/€10/$10 stake, min odds 1.5, free bets paid as 2 x £15/€15/$15, free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is settled, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. See full terms below. Play responsibly. Gamblingtherapy.org
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BC.Game
- Large range of cryptocurrency options
- Strong welcome bonus
- Wide range of games
Sign Up & Get Reward Up to 1 BTC
- 18+. 300% first deposit bonus is if you deposit within the first 20 minutes of sign up. If you fail to do it in 20 minutes then you have the other 4 deposit bonus: 1st Deposit = 80% for deposit over $30, 100% over $80, and 180% over $400; 2nd Deposit = Up to 180% if you deposit $100 or more; 3rd Deposit = Up to 180% for deposit over $200; 4th Deposit = Up to 240% for deposit over $200. Daily free spin with no wagering requirements and rewards up to 1 BTC. T&Cs Apply.
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- Easy-to-navigate website
- Allows arbitrage betting
- Expansive range of e-sports markets
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- Strong welcome offer
- Good range of betting markets
- Offers a cash-out feature
Bet $15 get $10
- This offer is for new customers only and is available once per household. Max. Free Bet amount $10. Minimum wagering on sport to activate the Free Bet is $15. Void/cancelled or cashed out bets do not count towards wagering to activate the free bet.
*The bonus code BIGBET can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way.
bet365 is one of the major worldwide brands and they focus heavily on the Melbourne Cup. With them, you can bet on Melbourne Cup markets. You can also claim a new player bonus. You can check the full terms on the site. As well as the Cup, they offer odds daily on hundreds of worldwide horse races. However, the odds change constantly.
Another brand within horse racing is Pinnacle. You can bet on Melbourne Cup markets as well as on their live section. Pinnacle is a worldwide brand with a good focus on this sport.
Ladbrokes is synonymous with horse racing, the UK brand earning its stripes in the sport. A major online betting brand, Ladbrokes offers Melbourne Cup odds on every nominated runner. They tend to be competitive too, while also offering live streaming of many events.
Betway also featured highly in our past reviews of online betting sites. They too allow you to bet on Melbourne Cup runners. Live, in-running bets are possible and the quality of the whole service is excellent.
Placing Bets on the Cup Online: Step by Step
If you’re looking to place a bet on Melbourne Cup runners, the process is very simple. Once you have some Cup selections in mind, simply follow this step-by-step guide to get going:
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Get armed with the right info. Make sure you have good tips for the race. This helps you to make good choices and avoids bad bets.
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Check out our LordofOdds reviews. These will help you to find the best betting sites available. The best sites offer bonuses and good betting value for your Melbourne Cup wagers.
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Open an account with your chosen bookmaker. After that, you can grab your bonus and make a deposit.
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Log in to your new account and head straight to the horse racing section. This is sometimes on its own, or listed within ‘sports’. You will find the Melbourne Cup within the ‘ante-post’ or ‘futures’ sections.
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Browse through all the Melbourne Cup runners, use the information you’ve collected and back your horse(s). Click on the odds next to your horses and place your bets.
Available Bet Types
When you want to bet on Melbourne Cup odds, there are plenty of choices of markets for you. The good old win and place bets are still the most popular. After that, each-way betting, Exactas, Trifectas and Quinellas are all tantalising options. Each has its own merits, with the exotic bets being harder to win.
The Best Bets to Place
Ultimately, we reckon it’s best to keep things simple with the Melbourne Cup. While exotic bets are very tempting, the more common bets are more reliable. It’s often best to stick to win bets and each-way/place bets in the Melbourne Cup.
Melbourne Cup betting, as you can imagine, is very competitive. That often means the win odds for each horse can appear large. This takes away some of the need to go exotic.
We think it’s best to place wagers on two or three of your top Cup tips. Back them win or each-way and hope that at least one of those bets comes in.
2023 Melbourne Cup Favourites
Before you go and bet on Melbourne Cup runners this year, remember that the final field and the barrier draw aren’t known until Saturday, November 4. With over 100 nominations still in so far and with the weights now known, these are the top Melbourne Cup betting contenders as we see it:
Vauban
Willie Mullins, the Irish trainer, is looking to turn this Cheltenham Festival winner over jumps into a Melbourne Cup champion. Vauban has already won on the Flat at Royal Ascot. He also won a Group 3 at Naas in August, a race in which he needed only to finish placed. That qualified him for the race.
He has plenty in his favour and is sure to stay the 3200-metre distance. The sticking point is his price, which ranges online from only $4.00 to around $5.50.
Soulcombe
A former British-trained runner, Soucombe has taken to life well in Australia. Now with Chris Waller, he has already experienced a win at Flemington during the Carnival. He won the Queen’s Cup last year.
Soulcombe is in great form this year too. He has won a Listed race already and was a close fourth in the Underwood Stakes. The distance of his last race would not have been to his advantage and we look forward to seeing him over staying trips.
Francesco Guardi
Another former Newmarket runner is Francesco Guardi, these days trained by Chris Waller too. Though he hasn’t yet hit top form, he continues to improve which is something we’ve noted.
His fifth in the Makybe Diva recently will have put him spot-on for the major spring races. Last year’s Moonee Valley Gold Cup winner is a general $13.00 shot for the Melbourne Cup.
Breakup
At around the same odds as Francesco Guardi is the Japanese contender Breakup. This race has been on the agenda for a long time.
When last seen in June he was well beaten, but that was in a race that didn’t play to his strengths. Previously, Breakup was beaten narrowly in two major Japanese long-distance races. That form looks very good and it would seem that this race is ideal for him.
West Wind Blows
There aren’t many British runners nominated this year, but West Wind Blows surely has a chance. This horse is trained by Simon and Ed Crisford who have done very well with him.
Only a northern hemisphere four-year-old, West Wind Blows has his best days ahead of him. After winning a Group 3 in Paris this year, he was second to star galloper Pyledriver at Royal Ascot and has since finished second to Passenger who had been the Derby favourite. He has a major chance for certain.
Just Fine
This one is a recent recruit for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Formerly owned by King Charles and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Just Fine reached a decent level in England. He was a Group 3 winner straight away at Randwick and now connections hope he can improve again.
Without A Fight
Yet another former Newmarket horse and good value runner is Without A Fight. Formerly with the Crisfords, like West Wind Blows, this son of Teofilo is now trained by Anthony & Sam Freedman.He’s won twice at Eagle Farm so far up to Group 2 level and clearly has a lot of talent. He was only 13th in this race last year, but he’s a different animal now. It’ll be interesting to see what his lead-up races are.
The Best Melbourne Cup Betting Strategy
First of all, at this stage you should keep the above-named runners in mind. As well as these, track the progress of runners such as Absurde, Goldman, Lunar Flare and perhaps Hoo Ya Mal.
If you want to bet on Melbourne Cup runners, one of the best bits of advice is to watch their form. Look for horses showing signs of improvement. Much like Gold Trip and Verry Elleegant, a Melbourne Cup winner will probably be putting in the performance of its life.
When looking to bet on Melbourne Cup contenders, always remember that very few win when not in great form. You can’t win this race on reputation. Even if a horse has done very well in the past, if it is out of form currently it remains highly unlikely to score in such a competitive event.
Keep an eye on all the major lead-up races including the Caulfield Cup. Do not back a horse you don’t believe can stay 3200 metres. Lastly, remember that you can bet on your horses to place, not just to win.
Conclusion
Before finally deciding on what to bet on the Melbourne Cup, check out all available LordOfOds reviews. This will help you to see what the best betting sites out there are.
Watch all the top contenders as the weeks go on. You want them to stay in good form, even if that means running well without winning. You can also take a look back to previous winners such as Twilight Payment, Cross County, Verry Elleegant and Gold Trip to see which path they took to the Cup.
Having a punt on the Melbourne Cup is still very exciting. It’s a fan’s way of being part of the race and truly having a stake in what happens. One thing’s for sure; we cannot wait for November 7th.
How to Bet on the Melbourne Cup FAQ
We answer the top questions about how to bet on Melbourne Cup odds here.
Yes. You can bet on Melbourne Cup horses with a whole range of top online betting brands. Each has its own odds, so shop around once you know which horses you’d like to back.
The Melbourne Cup has a changeable market. The best horse for this year may not make itself known until close to race time. Vauban, Without A Fight and West Wind Blows are certainly worth a look, however.
Yes, it is. You can bet on the Melbourne Cup live odds with some of the better online betting sites. Check out their live, in-running sections. You can also inquire about whether they will be streaming the race live.
