The ‘race that stops a nation’ is mere hours away and punters around the country are all after the winning Melbourne Cup tips, so below we have the Races.com.au team’s insider Melbourne Cup Best Bets 2012.

With 24 horses in the $6.2 million Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) field this year there is certainly a lot of form and historical data to take in before you place your Melbourne Cup bets at a trusted Aussie bookie such as bookmaker.com.au.

What horse is drawn in the most successful Melbourne Cup barrier?

Which horse should you back when looking at winning Melbourne Cup saddle cloth trends?

Is there a horse that stands out when you take into consideration the age and sex statistics on the Melbourne Cup?

Don’t work yourself up in a frazzle this cup day. Simply read on for our 2012 Best Melbourne Cup Bets and pick the Melbourne Cup winner the way you want!

Best Melbourne Cup Barrier Bet

• #12 Galileo’s Choice ($15) – Drew the most successful Melbourne Cup barrier of all time (11 with 7 wins)

Best Melbourne Cup Saddle Cloth Bet

• #4 Red Cadeaux ($9) and #12 Galileo’s Choice ($15) – Will wear the two most successful Melbourne Cup saddle cloth numbers of all time (11 wins each)

Best Melbourne Cup Win Rate Bet

• #12 Galileo’s Choice ($15) – boasts the highest Win Rate of the field (50.00%)

Best Melbourne Cup Place Bet

• #12 Galileo’s Choice (bmcup text=”$15″]) – also has the highest Place Percentage of the field (81.25%)

Best Melbourne Cup Lead-Up Race Bet

• #1 Duanden ($7) – Won the Caulfield Cup last start, 12 of the past 19 Melbourne Cup winners won their lead-up race and historically the Caulfield Cup has easily been the best guide to the Melbourne Cup

Best Melbourne Cup Winning Age Bet

• #17 My Quest For Peace ($18), #20 Lights Of Heaven ($18) and #24 Kelinni ($21) – 5YO’s have the best record in the Cup (44 wins) and these are the three 5YO’s running today

Best Melbourne Cup Weights Bet

• #7 Cavalryman ($29), #8 Mount Athos ($7) and #9 Sanagas ($51) – All carry 54kg today which is the average winning weight in the Cup over the past decade

Best Melbourne Cup Horse Name Bet

• #9 Sanagas ($51) – Horses with a name starting with the letter ‘S’ have won the most Melbourne Cups (9 wins)

Best Melbourne Cup Distance Bet

• #12 Galileo’s Choice ($15) – Boasts the best record over the two-miles (3-2-1-0)

Best Melbourne Cup Silks Colour Bet

• #11 Fiorente ($41) – Is the only single-figure chance whose jockey will wear primarily black silks – the most successful Melbourne Cup jockey colour (17 wins)

Best Overall Melbourne Cup Bet

• #12 Galieo’s Choice ($16) – Based on the above the ultra-consistent, Dermot Weld-trained Irish raider Galileo’s Choice has the consistency, stats and distance record all stacking up in their favour for a Melbourne Cup win.

Check out all the latest Melbourne Cup odds and get behind our Melbourne Cup Best Bets at bookmaker.com.au for the best prices on the world’s richest handicap.