It is that time of year when everyone in Australia stops for around 3 minutes at 3 o’clock on the first Tuesday of November to watch as the best stayers from around the world battle it out on the Flemington turf for the sporting event of the year, the Emirates Melbourne Cup.

It is also the time of year where nearly every work place across the nation will set up their Melbourne Cup sweeps. Setting up Melbourne Cup 2024 sweeps in the office is a terrific way for everyone to get involved in the race and has become an essential and entertaining part of Cup day culture.

What is a Melbourne Cup Sweep?

When a group of people, often from an office or workplace, all pool their money into purchasing a ticket each, where each ticket represents a running horse in the Melbourne Cup. They are a good, low-stakes way for people to get involved in the betting action and excitement of the Melbourne Cup, as most sweeps are low cost to enter. Of course you can make your sweep any price you want to enter, and remember that the higher the entry costs the higher the prize dividends paid for winners will be.

The tickets or horse names are selected randomly, one each for everyone involved in the sweep. It is generally seen as good form to allow those who pay their money first to select their horse first as well.

How to calculate the winnings for 2024 Melbourne Cup Sweeps?

When calculating the winnings, as a rule first place collects half the prize pool and the other half is divided on a sliding scale to the other place getters. Often a small prize is paid to the horse that ran last as well. Of course, you can choose to change the calculations slightly, paying up to 60% to the winning horses. Many Melbourne Cup sweeps also pay for a fourth place selection as well as the top three.

When to set up Melbourne Cup sweeps?

Melbourne Cup sweeps can be set up as soon as the final field of runners has been announced, which is on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup after the Victoria Derby Day has taken place.

Why are Melbourne Cup sweeps popular?

Melbourne Cup sweeps are especially popular for first-time or amateur punters who do not have the knowledge or time to study the form and statistics of the Melbourne Cup and its runners, and want a simple, fun and convenient way to place a bet without utilizing a betting agency or online bookmaker. As the horses for each participant are drawn at random, the betting odds are ignored completely, and sweeps do not take into account all of the typical factors punters consider when selecting a horse to win the Cup such as recent form, weight carried and jockey or trainer career statistics. This means that everyone involved in Melbourne Cup sweeps has an equal opportunity of drawing out the winner.