2025 Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival Dates

The 2025 Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival takes place from late January - April each year and is headlined by events such as the Blue Diamond Stakes, Australian Guineas and the Newmarket Handicap. The All-Star Mile is another highlight of the autumn and runs in March as a Group 1 for the first time in 2025.

Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival News

2025 Blue Diamond Stakes Field & Betting Update

The 2025 Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival features a host of top level racing in the early months of the year alongside and preceding the classic Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

The Melbourne Autumn Festival runs late January until the end of March. The headline meetings include Blue Diamond Stakes Day in February and Flemington’s Newmarket Handicap Day in March.

All of the autumn race meetings in Victoria are hosted by the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) and take place at the major metropolitan tracks around the state.

The carnival is also host to the first Group 1 race of the new season when the CF Orr Stakes (1400m) lights-up Caulfield Racecourse in early to mid-February.

Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival Days

The Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival race days feature some of the country’s top Group 1 events and give punters a host of stars to enjoy a bet on at Ladbrokes.com.au over the start of the year.

2025 AUSTRALIA STAKES DAY

Friday January 24, 2025 – Moonee Valley Racecourse

The carnival’s opening Group 2 event runs at The Valley with the season’s top sprinters contesting the:

Group 2 $350,000 Australia Stakes (1200m)

2025 BLUE DIAMOND PREVIEW DAY

Saturday January 25, 2025 – Sandown Lakeside

Melbourne hosts Melbourne’s major Australia Day long weekend race meeting and the line-up is headlined by the:

Group 3 $250,000 Blue Diamond Fillies Preview (1000m)
Listed $250,000 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Preview (1000m)
Group 3 $200,000 Manfred Stakes (1300m)

2025 CHAIRMAN’S STAKES DAY

Saturday February 1, 2025 – Caulfield Racecourse

The MRC Chairman’s Stakes Day card features two Group 3 events for horses heading towards Group 1 autumn features:

Group 3 $200,000 MRC Chairman’s Stakes (1000m)
Group 3 $200,000 Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes (1300m)

2025 CF ORR STAKES DAY

Saturday February 8, 2025 – Caulfield Racecourse

The countdown to the 2025 Blue Diamond Stakes heats up with the two Prelude races held on the year’s opening Group 1 race meeting. CF Orr Stakes Day features a total of seven Group status autumn features including the year’s first elite level race:

Group 1 $750,000 C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m)
Group 2 $300,000 Rubiton Stakes (1100m)
Group 2 $300,000 Autumn Stakes (1400m)
Group 2 $350,000 Blue Diamond Fillies Prelude (1100m)
Group 3 $350,000 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude (1100m)
Group 3 $200,000 Kevin Hayes Stakes (1200m)
Group 3 $200,000 TS Carlyon Cup (1600m) – run in 2025 as the JRA Plate

2025 BLACK CAVIAR LIGHTNING DAY

Saturday February 15, 2025 – Flemington Racecourse

The Group 1 autumn racing action in Melbourne moves to the famous Flemington track for this meeting headlined by two Group races:

Group 1 $1,000,000 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (1000m)
Group 3 $200,000 CS Hayes Stakes (1400m)
Group 3 $200,000 Frances Tressady Stakes (1400m)

2025 BLUE DIAMOND STAKES DAY

Saturday February 22, 2025 – Caulfield Racecourse

The autumn Melbourne racing action heats up in late February with 2025 Blue Diamond Stakes Day headlined by the carnival’s feature race for three-year-olds. There are a total of seven Group races on the card including a trio of Group 1 races:

Group 1 $2 million Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m)
Group 1 $750,000 Oakleigh Plate (1100m)
Group 1 $750,000 Futurity Stakes (1400m)
Group 2 $300,000 Caulfield Autumn Classic (1800m)
Group 2 $300,000 Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m)
Group 3 $200,000 Zeditave Stakes (1200m)
Group 3 $200,000 Mannerism Stakes (1400m)

2025 AUSTRALIAN GUINEAS DAY

Saturday March 1, 2025 – Flemington Racecourse

Flemington is in the spotlight again on the first Saturday in March for 2025 Australian Guineas Day headlined by the mile race for three-year-olds. There are currently two Group events on the card in total:

Group 1 $1,000,000 Australian Guineas (1600m)
Group 2 $300,000 Blamey Stakes (1600m)

2025 NEWMARKET HANDICAP DAY

Saturday March 8, 2025 – Flemington Racecourse

Flemington brings the Victorian autumn racing action to a peak with the running of the time-honoured Newmarket Handicap sprint event. Previously the Australian Cup also ran on the card but was moved to its own feature race meeting at the end of the month in 2023. In 2025 the recently upgraded Group 1 All-Star Mile moves to the Newmarket Handicap card. A number of other Group events supporting the elite level race on the card:

Group 1 $1.5 million Newmarket Handicap (1200m)
Group 1 $2.5 million All-Star Mile (1600m)
Group 2 $300,000 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m)
Group 2 $300,000 Kewney Stakes (1400m)
Group 3 $200,000 Matron Stakes (1600m)
Group 3 $200,000 Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap (1400m)
Group 3 $200,000 Ottawa Stakes (1000m) – formerly held in November
$150,000 Australian Cup Prelude (1800m)

2025 WILLIAM REID STAKES DAY

Saturday March 22, 2025 – Moonee Valley Racecourse

One of the biggest autumn meeting at Moonee Valley is held on a Saturday in late March and features four Group races:

Group 1 $1,000,000 William Reid Stakes (1200m)
Group 2 $500,000 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m)
Group 2 $300,000 Sunline Stakes (1600m)
Group 3 $200,000 Don Casboult Classic (1200m) – formerly the Typhoon Tracy Stakes
Group 3 $200,000 Alexandra Stakes (1600m)

2025 AUSTRALIAN CUP DAY

Saturday March 29, 2025 – Flemington Racecourse

From 2023 onwards the time-honoured Australian Cup race has moved to take place on its own feature race meeting at the end of March at Flemington with prize money currently set at $2.5 million.