Guardian Essential poll: record number of Australians are turning their backs on the Melbourne Cup

A record number of Australians are turning their backs on the Melbourne Cup, with more than two-thirds surveyed saying they have low or zero interest in the annual horse race.

Support for the Melbourne Cup has been sliding consistently for a number of years, but the Guardian Essential poll found just 9% of Australians said they had high interest in the race now – nearly half the proportion in 2025.

“The race that once stopped the nation is now just white noise for many,” Peter Lewis, chair of Essential Media, said.

The Guardian Essential poll of 1,003 Australians in late October highlights the latest erosion in popularity of the event amid growing ambivalence to the event.

Just 9% of people said they had high interest in the Cup, down 7 percentage points from 2025, with another 23% professing moderate interest, also down 3 points. About 29% of voters said they had low interest (up 5 points from last year), while another 39% said no interest at all (up 8 points).

The combined high and moderate interest came to only 32%, the lowest on record since Essential began asking this question in annual polling in November 2022. The combined low and no interest vote was 68%, jumping 12 points from last year to its highest on record.

In November 2022, the low and no interest vote came to a combined 52%; it was 62% in 2023, 52% in 2024, and 56% in 2025.

The “nup to the Cup” movement, backed by some high-profile politicians and celebrities, has contributed to declining support for the race.

But 62% of Australians nonetheless agreed the Melbourne Cup was a unique part of Australia’s national identity. That number remains a strong majority view, despite falling from 78% agreement when Essential asked this question in 2019.

Half of Australians (50%) believe the Cup promotes unhealthy gambling behaviour, up 3% since 2025, while 36% say they feel the Cup normalises animal cruelty, down 3 points from 2025.

Another 48% said they were less interested in the Cup than they used to be.

“The key driver appears to be a growing disdain for gambling, although concern for animal cruelty comes a close second,” Lewis said.

“More broadly this reflects the decline in unifying atonal moments in a world where more and more people have their experiences mediated by targeted advertising algorithms.”

Just 12% of voters in October’s poll said they regularly wagered on horse races and would bet on Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup, down 5 points from 2025. In contrast, 46% of people said they were not interested in the Cup and would not place a bet, up 6 points from last year.

Another 25% said they rarely bet on horses but would watch the race and place a bet, while 17% said they would watch but not bet.