Horse Racing

Every spring Australian punters and horse racing fans around the world invest millions of dollars in the Melbourne Cup betting markets hoping for a big payoff!

While the 2014 Melbourne Cup isn’t run until Tuesday, November 4th, 2014, Melbourne Cup betting markets are open right now at bookies around the country including our favourite, Ladbrokes.com.au.

Futures Melbourne Cup betting is a great way to lock in juicy Melbourne Cup odds on the horses likely to be nominated for and finish well in the Melbourne Cup field when the iconic clash takes place at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.

2014 Melbourne Cup Betting

Of course the Melbourne Cup betting really starts to heat up closer to the Melbourne Cup Carnival starting with the Melbourne Cup nominations which are taken in early September.

With each acceptance stage the Melbourne Cup betting markets and Melbourne Cup odds firm on the horses heading towards the ‘race that stops a nation’.

In the early Melbourne Cup betting markets the only real bet types open are Fixed Win odds where you back the horse you think will become the Melbourne Cup winner.

Then as the capacity 24-horse Melbourne Cup field starts to become clearer, more and more Melbourne Cup betting odds and options become available at leading betting agencies like Ladbrokes.com.au.

Below we take a look at some of the different Melbourne Cup betting options that you will be able to get in on for the Melbourne Cup .

Melbourne Cup Bets

The Melbourne cup is the richest “two-mile” horse race in the world with prize money of more than AUD$6.2 million to be won in the Melbourne Cup. While that $6 million prize pool is certainly impressive, it does not compare to the size of the Melbourne Cup betting pools as fans and punters from all over the world put in their wagers at betting sites like Ladbrokes.com.au.

The Melbourne Cup invites one of the largest volumes of wagers for a horse race anywhere in the world – it is the absolute biggest betting event on the Australian sports calendar. From the time betting opens to the last hour of the race, a constant stream of punters furiously plan the Melbourne Cup betting and make millions of dollars in bets.

Any punter with even the slightest interest in horse racing joins in the Melbourne Cup betting as the wager pool runs into millions of dollars.

Melbourne Cup Betting Options

There are many different Melbourne Cup betting options available for punters. If you are looking to make a wager for the upcoming Melbourne Cup, study each Melbourne Cup betting option and find the best possible odds for you. Melbourne Cup betting options include win bets, place bets, each-way bets, exactas, quinellas, trifectas, and more.

• Win – Most Melbourne Cup betting is wagering on the winner. In a win bet, punters place a wager on the horse they think will win. The best odds for win bets are often found at online sports betting sites.

• Place – Not as common in Melbourne Cup betting as a win bet, place bets are still popular for punters who want to minimise their risk. To win a place bet, your horse simply has to finish first, second or third.

• Each-Way – The each-way bet is actually a win and a place bet on a particular horse, both bets of equal size. This is the ultimate Melbourne Cup betting option for people who want minimal risk. It doesn’t pay of particularly well, though, and most punter would be better off looking into box bets and other exotic betting options.

Melbourne Cup Exotic Bets

Experienced punters can try their luck at complex Melbourne Cup betting options such as quinellas and trifectas. These types of wagers require the punter to pick multiple winners at exactly the same order. Because of the complexity of these wagers, some of them are only available for selected Australian thoroughbred races like the Melbourne Cup.

Here are some of the most popular exotic wagers in the Melbourne Cup:

• Melbourne Cup Quinella – A punter must pick predict the top two winners of the race in any order for the wager to win. Punters usually take the top two favourites when making these bets, but there are many other combinations that punters can choose from.

• Box Quinella – Punters pick more than two horses to win first or second in the race. The more horses the punter selects in his “box”, the higher his chances of winning. In effect, a box quinella is just multiple quinella bets, but is an easier way to cover every combination of your preferred runners. These bets are easiest to make at an online betting sites, where you can quickly get help from support staff if you need it.

• Melbourne Cup Exacta – Like the quinella, punters must pick two horses to run first and second, but in exact finishing order. The exacta is harder to pick than a quinella, with the advantage that it pays out significantly better.

• Box Exacta – Just as with the box quinella, the box exacta allows punters to choose a field of 2 or more horses, and it covers every exacta combination of those horses.

• Melbourne Cup Trifecta – Punters pick the first three finishers in exact order. It is quite an achievement to pick the Melbourne Cup Trifecta outright, so most punters go with a box trifecta instead.

• Box Trifecta – Punters pick any number of horses from 3 to the field limit, and then cover every trifecta combination of those runners.

• Melbourne Cup First Four – Punters pick the first four finishers in exact order. Again, getting this right is hard, so punters usually take this as a box bet.

• Box First Four – Punters pick a number of horses from 4 to the field limit, and then cover every First Four combination of those horses.

Online sports betting websites and bookmakers provide Melbourne Cup betting odds so that punters around the world can wager without going to Flemington. For many punters, online betting is a good alternative to betting on the racetrack since they can make their wagers from the comfort of their own home and watch live results.

If you plan to do some Melbourne Cup betting of your own, we recommend joining Ladbrokes.com.au as it offers fantastic odds and an easy-to-use betting interface.