Today the 2010 Melbourne Cup Third Acceptances left 47 horses vying for a run in this year’s Cup, but with a number of classy stayers still outside the top 24 this Saturday’s The Lexus Stakes is the last opportunity to sneak into the 150^th Melbourne Cup field.

High profile Melbourne Cup hopefuls still well down the order of entry that need to win either the $1 million Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) or the $250,000 Group 3 The Lexus Stakes (2500m) at Flemington’s Victoria Derby Day include:

• Precedence (Bart Cummings)
• Mourayan (Robert Hickmott)
• Herculian Prince (Gai Waterhouse)
• Alcopop (Jake Stephens)
• Linton (Robert Hickmott)
• Holberg (Saeed Bin Suroor)
• Drunken Sailor (Drunken Sailor)
• Eastern Aria (Mark Johnston)

With the 2010 Melbourne Cup set to be contested by one of the strongest and most impressive fields of gallopers in years, the fight to make the field is hotter than ever.

After Cummings’ announced he would back up hot Melbourne Cup favourite So You Think after his stunning Cox Plate win in this Saturday’s Mackinnon Stakes, The Lexus Stakes now looks the last viable option for connections and their Cup hopefuls.

Last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Shocking took out the Lexus on way to his startling success in the world’s richest handicap 12 months ago, as did Brew in 2000.

In fact, in the past four decades 24 Melbourne Cup winners have come via either the Mackinnon or the Lexus on Derby Day.

Eleven of the Cups King Bart Cummings’ 12 Melbourne Cup champions raced at Flemington the Saturday before their Cup success, Saintly (1996) the only runner that didn’t come via a Derby Day run.

Contenders that are among the 30 nominations for the Lexus battling for one of the 24 places in the Melbourne Cup include Bart Cummings’ Moonee Valley Cup winner Precedence (30^th), the Lloyd Williams-owned duo Mourayan (31^st) and Linton (34^th), last year’s beaten Melbourne Cup favourite Alcopop (33^rd) and one-time favourite for the Caulfield Cup Moudre (42^nd).

Below is the complete list of 2010 The Lexus Stakes Nominations, with betting on this race and all the other Victoria Derby Day features due to open at Luxbet on Wednesday when final fields are released.

2010 The Lexus Stakes Nominations