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2023 Melbourne Cup Results

The 2023 Melbourne Cup results will be known when the race runs on Tuesday November 7, 2023. 

• 1st: #3 Without A Fight ($8)
• 2nd: #6 Soulcombe
• 3rd: #14 Sheraz
• 4th: #11 Ashrun

The Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained Caulfield Cup winner Without A Fight was given a perfectly-timed ride by Mark Zahra, who opted to come off last year’s champ Gold Trip, to become the 12th horse in history to complete the Spring Cups double.

Zahra made up ground from the back hitting the front on the eventual 2023 Melbourne Cup winner the closing stages as Without a Fight charged strongly down the middle before drawing clear for an impressive two length victory over the Chris Waller-trained Soulcombe who missed the kick by three lengths.

Waller also prepared the third place-getter Sheraz who ran out of his skin as a triple-figure roughie to complete the Melbourne Cup trifecta.

Click here for the full story and to view the complete 2023 Melbourne Cup finishing order.

2023 Melbourne Cup Results & Finishing Order

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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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 2023 Melbourne Cup isn’t run until Tuesday November 7, 2023, 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 run in the 24-starter Melbourne Cup field when the iconic clash takes place at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November.

2023 Melbourne Cup Betting

Visit Ladbrokes.com.au for the latest Melbourne Cup 2023 odds on the official 2023 Melbourne Cup Field once final acceptances close on Derby Day.

2023 Melbourne Cup Tips

Our insider Melbourne Cup 2023 Betting Tips will be updated below the week of the race so stay tuned for the spring stayers to back and sack in the two mile classic.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE 2023 MELBOURNE CUP TIPS & BEST BETS ON THE CUP

To Win: #5 Vauban ($4.20 at time of publish) 

He’s been a dominant favourite in Melbourne Cup betting for a long time now and while we’d like to find some value or be cheering home a local this Willie Mullins-trained raider really does look hard to beat. The classy Galiway gelding is out to be the fifth Irish-trained Melbourne Cup winner in history and Mullins had him pegged for this a long way out with confidence. No horse has jumped under $3.50 in Melbourne Cup betting and won since Makybe Diva for her second in 2004 so the fact he is now out over $4 for the win at time of publish is a plus for the deserving favourite. A seven-time winner from 14 starts his latest was a gutsy effort in a Group 3 at a mile and a half in August. Before that he floored them putting an easy 7.5 lengths on his rivals with a hefty 61kg on his back. He looks extremely well weighted for the Cup with 55kg.  It has been a while between runs but his outstanding lead-up work at Flemington suggests he is fit and ready to fire. He has winning form up to 3382m so the Melbourne Cup distance is no stress and he’ll appreciate the room at the course. Carries big weights to victory in the hurdle races at home but does need to break his Group 1 flat racing duck here. Will take some beating especially with one of the best riders in the world in Ryan Moore on his back.

To Challenge: #4 Breakup ($17 at time of publish)

Cannot believe you can get this gun Japanese galloper at $17 at time of publish. That is a huge price for a dour stayer that should run out the two miles. Odds went out when he drew barrier 18. Yes, that is wide but there is time to overcome the alley, and let’s not forget that Verry Elleegant (2021) broke the gate 18 hoodoo winning from this gate a couple of years back. Fitter second-up after a Caulfield Cup eighth that was better than it looks on paper and predicting sharp improvement. Gets Japanese hoop Kohei Matsuyama on now in a plus. A nicely-bred Novellist stallion who was good in April’s coveted Group 1 Tenno Sho (3200m) finishing fourth at a big price with 58kg. Back to 55kg here. Definitely one of the forgotten dark horse international Melbourne Cup contenders.

To Feature: Gold Trip ($7 at time of publish) 

Is Gold Trip an outright champion? We’re about to find out! Just looking at what this Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained import has done in the majors over the past two years already suggests he’s a very good horse. Won the race last year with 57.5kg after runs in the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate. Same lead-up this year with equally impressive performances. That said, they were tougher runs than last year on firmer going so he’s got to be feeling it. Carries the 58.5kg top-weight and Think Big (1975 for his second) was the last to cart those kilos to a Melbourne Cup win. Mark Zahra coming off could be a worrying sign, but I think he might be reading too much into the weight. James McDonald is a star and won the Cox Plate on Romantic Warrior so makes a perfectly fine replacement. In a Cup field where a lot of the big players still have a 3200m question mark, this dour former French galloper has that over his rivals. Drawn to win with the class to back him up. Back-to-back?

To Improve: #7 Absurde ($12 at time of publish) 

We’ve got money coming in for the stablemate to the favourite with Mullins’ other runner heavily backed since final acceptances on Saturday afternoon. Was as long as $23 but since drawing a treat in gate eight his quote has halved. Zac Purton is over from Hong Kong and takes the ride on 53kg. Was brained by Absurde eight lengths beaten at home in a recent run but think he’ll be improving notable on that. Subsequent win last start in the Ebor Handicap (2816m) at York in late August to win his spot in the Melbourne Cup field. Did that with 60.5kg from barrier 22. Gets a better barrier and will be airborne dropping so many kilos here. Two-miles? No worries!  He has won up to 4023m so is one of the genuine stayers in the race. Rarely misses a spot in the top three and he’ll relish the firm going with an outstanding dry track record. Look out!

To Surprise: #15 Lastotchka ($21) and #21 Future History ($18)

A couple of light weights at good prices for exotics for those chasing the value. Lastotchka looks a little pocket rocket. She’s a French import now with Price & Kent Jnr. racing first-up down under with Craig Williams aboard. A bit of a tough one to gauge the form lines, but she’ll get the 3200m as a last start Group 3 winner with 56kg at Longchamp over 3100m. Needs to be good, but can surprise a few. Future History has a more proven lead-up down under and is one in the Maher/Eustace contingent down in weight and coming off a Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup third. Flemington winner in The Bart Cummings before that. Let’s see how Hollie Doyle goes!

View more on the Melbourne Cup Tips on our dedicated page giving your all the info to back the 2023 Melbourne Cup winner.

The count down is on until Melbourne Cup Day on the first Tuesday of November and with the 24-starter Melbourne Cup field set to be released on Saturday, the Melbourne Cup tips are firming.

Early Melbourne Cup tips are usually dominated by dead-set stayers proven at 2400m – 3200m and any horses that ran well in the previous season’s Melbourne Cup results are usually high up Melbourne Cup betting and tipping pre-field.

As the Group 1 $8.41 million Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) approaches the Melbourne Cup tips start to focus on the lead-up form of the horses that season and their performances in lead-up races like the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) and Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m).

Verry Elleegant (3rd in 2021) and Gold Trip (9th in 2022) are the last Cox Plate graduates to back-up and win the Melbourne Cup.

In 2023 Without A Fight became the 12th horse in history and first since 2001 to complete the Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double.

International gallopers are also always a hot Melbourne Cup tip to take to the bookies with raiders boasting a strong recent history running in the Melbourne Cup trifecta.

2023 Melbourne Cup Betting

The fixed-win Melbourne Cup 2023 betting odds are available following the release of the official 24 starter Melbourne Cup Field on the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day.

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 progressing towards the ‘race that stops a nation’.

In the early Melbourne Cup betting markets the only real bet types open are all-in prices 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 2023.

Melbourne Cup Bets

The Melbourne Cup is the richest “two-mile” horse race in the world with prize money of more than AUD$7.75 million to be won in the 2023 Melbourne Cup. While that prize pool is certainly impressive, it does not compare to the size of the Melbourne Cup betting pools built as a result of punters all over the world placing one or multiple Melbourne Cup bets.

The Melbourne Cup invites one of the largest volumes of wagers for a horse race anywhere in the world and is without doubt 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  2023 Melbourne Cup betting of your own, we recommend joining Ladbrokes.com.au as it offers fantastic odds and an easy-to-use betting interface.