Posted Mon 2 Nov 2026 at 5:38amMon 2 Nov 2026 at 5:38am

Two race horses battle for the win with the rest of the field behind them

Jamie Melham rides Half Yours (right) to win the 2025 Melbourne Cup. (Getty Images: Daniel Pockett)

A strong field of Australian hopefuls and international raiders is preparing for the race that stops the nation on Tuesday. 

Tuesday's Melbourne Cup will be the 166th running of the famous horse race, with rain forecast in the Victorian capital ahead of the meet. 

From start time to weather forecast, below are some key things to know before the 2025 Melbourne Cup.

What time is the Melbourne Cup?

Melbourne Cup Day is held on the first Tuesday of November, which is November 3 this year.

The Melbourne Cup will be the seventh race of 10 at Flemington Racecourse.

Here are the start times for the Melbourne Cup in each state and territory, including New Zealand.

  • 3pm AEDT: Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, ACT
  • 2:30pm ACDT: South Australia
  • 2pm AEST: Queensland
  • 1:30pm ACST: Northern Territory
  • 12pm AWST: Western Australia
  • 5pm NZDT: New Zealand

How to watch and follow the Melbourne Cup

The Nine Network has the television rights to broadcast the 2026 Melbourne Cup.

All 10 races at Flemington will be broadcast on Channel Nine, and streamed on Nine Now.

ABC Sport will have live digital coverage of Melbourne Cup Day with a live blog. You can also listen to the live call of the Melbourne Cup on the radio, online, or via the ABC Listen app.

What is the weather forecast for the Melbourne Cup?

There is forecast to be some rain around Melbourne for Cup Day on Tuesday. 

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast between 3-15 millimetres to fall in Melbourne on Monday, with a possible morning shower on Tuesday. 

There was plenty of rain in the lead-up to last year's race, won by Half Yours, with the track rated a Soft 6 for the Cup. 

Who is the favourite to win the Melbourne Cup?

There will be a field of 24 for the Melbourne Cup.

The favourite to win is number 20, Point of Law.

A horse wearing blue colours races to victory.

Point Of Law showed sustained speed for an impressive win at Geelong. (Racing Photos via Getty Images: Pat Scala)

Point of Law is a UK thoroughbred, sired by the great Frankle, trained by Ciaron Maher.

The three-year-old colt has just five race starts for three wins, including the Geelong Cup last month. 

Source: ABC Australia · Michael Doyle

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Topic
Sports
Country
🇦🇺 AU
Publisher language
EN
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