The Melbourne Cup field is made up of the world’s best staying types with both local Australian gallopers and international raiders fighting it out for the richest handicap prize every November.

Held on the first Tuesday of November each year at Melbourne’s famous Flemington Racecourse the Melbourne Cup field features a capacity 24 starters and has no emergencies.

Every spring the Melbourne Cup field of final acceptances is released on the Saturday before Melbourne Cup Day. The live announcement of the Melbourne Cup field is made from Flemington at around 6:00pm (local time), with the official Melbourne Cup final acceptances closing to connections at 4:30pm (AEDT) after the action of Victoria Derby Day.

2018 Melbourne Cup Field Dates

2018 Melbourne Cup field and nomination announcement dates:

• Nominations: Wednesday August 30, 2018
• Handicaps / Weights: Tuesday 11 September, 2018
• First Acceptances: Tuesday 2 October, 2018
• Second Acceptances: Monday 22 October, 2018
• Final Field: Saturday November 3, 2018
• Jockeys: Saturday November 3, 2018
• Barrier Draw: Saturday November 3, 2018

Of course betting on the Melbourne Cup field opens at bookies around the country including Ladbrokes.com.au before even the Melbourne Cup nominations are taken.

Melbourne Cup odds are open nearly all year round with futures betting offering great prices, the favourite paying over $20, for those that want to get in on the action early.

To check out the latest Melbourne Cup betting markets for this year’s showdown head to Ladbrokes.com.au, the country’s most trusted bookie for Melbourne Cup odds.

2018 Melbourne Cup Field

The 2018 Melbourne Cup field will be released on November 3, 2018 after the racing action live from Flemington Racecourse on Victoria Derby Day.

Update:

OFFICIAL 2018 MELBOURNE CUP BARRIER DRAW.

24 HORSES IN THE MELBOURNE CUP FIELD CONFIRMED.

It is a long process to whittle down all the hopeful horses to reveal the official Melbourne Cup field. Things start at the beginning of September when the Melbourne Cup nominations are taken, with numbers usually exceeding 150 early entries. First declaration stage narrows down the number of Melbourne Cup horses a month later at the start of October by as much as half. Second declarations follow about three weeks on at the end of October before the final declaration or acceptance stage on Victoria Derby Day.2018 Melbourne Cup Second Acceptances. The 2018 Melbourne Cup second acceptances will be taken soon to determine who is in the hunt for a berth in ‘the race that stops a nation’. All the horses that remain in contention can be found below and for all the latest news on every runner keep visiting races.com.au.

2018 Melbourne Cup First Acceptances

The official 2018 Melbourne Cup First Acceptances  will be taken on October 10th 2018 Melbourne Cup Nominations & Weights Nominations for the Melbourne Cup are taken in early September. About a week later, the Melbourne Cup weights will be released.

2018 Melbourne Cup Nominations

The 2018 Melbourne Cup nominations and weights will be listed below as soon as they are released by Racing Victoria (RV).Read more on the 2018 Melbourne Cup Weights.

No.	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	46x0022x4x	ABDON (GB)	G	6	Chris Waller	82
2	1x55462x0x	ACE HIGH	H	4	David Payne	–
3	21x21x214x	ADMIRE ROBSON (JPN)	H	5	Darren Weir	–
4	843320x68x	AL HARAM (FR)	G	6	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	83
5	5x0x92834x	AMBITIOUS (JPN)	H	7	Anthony Freedman	109
6	2131222x	ANOTHER DOLLAR (NZ)	M	4	Chris Waller	–
7	7x56164x5x	AUVRAY (FR)	G	8	Richard Freedman	–
8	1x3326x11x	AVILIUS (GB)	G	5	James Cummings	–
9	4112x0873x	AZURO (FR)	G	5	Darren Weir	75
10	x31311440x	BEDFORD (NZ)	G	5	Anthony Freedman	82
11	7x314461x	BELGRAVIA (IRE)	H	5	Liam Howley	80
12	1x03438x7x	BEST OF DAYS (GB)	H	5	James Cummings	–
13	1x3195x11x	BEST SOLUTION (IRE)	H	5	Saeed Bin Suroor	–
14	5021443x0x	BIG DUKE (IRE)	G	7	Darren Weir	107
15	1111x1160x	BONNEVAL (NZ)	M	5	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	–
16	1021x22x3x	BRIMHAM ROCKS (GB)	G	5	Chris Waller	–
17	222x1x334x	CALIBRATION (IRE)	H	5	Darren Weir	68
18	361x16246x	CASTERTON (IRE)	H	5	Andre Fabre	–
19	1x1x	CHELKAR (FR)	G	6	William Mullins
20	222x35113x	CHEQUERED FLAG (NZ)	G	7	Darren Weir	87
21	15x211250x	CHESTNUT COAT (JPN)	H	5	Yoshito Yahagi	–
22	78x512433x	CLIFFS OF MOHER (IRE)	H	5	Aidan O’Brien	–
23	60x312561x	COMIN’ THROUGH	G	5	Chris Waller	–
24	5651111x0x	CORDERO	G	5	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	95
25	26x1353x2x	COUNT OCTAVE (GB)	H	5	Andrew Balding	–
26	11x24112x	CROSS COUNTER (GB)	G	4	Charlie Appleby	–
27	71x735900x	CULLINGWORTH (IRE)	G	5	Darren Weir	70
28	x6x10x246x	DAL HARRAILD (GB)	G	6	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	–
29	497418x00x	DANDY GENT	G	7	Terry & Karina O’Sullivan	84
30	1x7x4x46x	DANON ROMAN (JPN)	H	5	Anthony Freedman	70
31	1x13714x3x	D’ARGENTO	H	4	Chris Waller	106
32	x0x250272x	DEAUVILLE (IRE)	H	6	Aidan O’Brien	–
33	32321x3x	DESERT SKYLINE (IRE)	G	5	David Elsworth	–
34	14x1331x1x	DIVINE UNICORN (GB)	G	5	Matthew Dunn	–
35	1x1x1x22x	DOHA DREAM (FR)	H	6	Andre Fabre	–
36	x332120x9x	DOMED	M	5	John P Thompson	–
37	54x217549x	DOUGLAS MACARTHUR (IRE)	G	5	Liam Howley	100
38	x3x15x533x	DURETTO (GB)	G	7	Andrew Balding	–
39	70x400521x	EGG TART	M	5	Chris Waller	107
40	7x623x2x1x	EMOTIONLESS (IRE)	H	6	Charlie Appleby	–
41	4111251x7x	ETAH JAMES (NZ)	M	6	Matt Cumani	95
42	213x86x2x	EXEMPLAR (IRE)	H	5	Liam Howley	85
43	313x655x1x	FINCHE (GB)	H	5	Andre Fabre	–
44	1x	FLAG OF HONOUR (IRE)	H	4	Aidan O’Brien	–
45	361431105x	GALLIC CHIEFTAIN (FR)	H	6	Darren Weir	–
46	2x111x2x	GAME STARTER (IRE)	H	5	Saeed Bin Suroor	–
47	3x	GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI (IRE)	H	4	Aidan O’Brien	–
48	128x11x0x	GOLDEN AUTHORITY (NZ)	G	5	Matt Cumani	73
49	3x1111x5x	GRUNT (NZ)	H	4	Mick Price	106
50	21x020030x	GUARDINI (FR)	G	8	Darren Weir	95
51	321x1111x	HAMADA (GB)	G	5	Charlie Appleby	–
52	131x590x9x	HANS HOLBEIN (GB)	G	7	Liam Howley	92
53	x900x6x60x	HAPPY MOMENT (JPN)	H	9	Anthony Freedman	98
54	510x71491x	HARIPOUR (IRE)	H	5	Darren Weir	78
55	7x28167x0x	HARLEM (GB)	G	7	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	109
56	140x621x4x	HARRISON (GB)	G	6	Liam Howley	93
57	10x114209x	HE EKSCELS (NZ)	G	5	Richard Laming	73
58	1x	HERE AND NOW (GB)	G	5	Ralph Beckett	–
59	19x31x0x1x	HIGH BRIDGE (GB)	G	8	Chris Waller	–
60	98x37x131x	HIGHLAD	G	5	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	–
61	343x312x6x	HIYAAM (NZ)	M	4	Mick Price	103
62	412153x16x	HOMESMAN (USA)	G	5	Liam Howley	105
63	20x4184x8x	HUMIDOR (NZ)	G	6	Darren Weir	116
64	1x	HUNTING HORN (IRE)	H	4	Aidan O’Brien	–
65	213x	HUSH WRITER (JPN)	H	4	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	–
66	45x814533x	IDAHO (IRE)	H	6	Aidan O’Brien	–
67	331x03x	ILWENDO (GER)	H	5	Matthew Smith	–
68	x3620x402x	INVICTUS PRINCE (GB)	G	6	Matthew Smith	–
69	5333x1x61x	JAAMEH (IRE)	G	6	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	92
70	2134x74x9x	JAKE’S HILL (GB)	G	5	Chris Waller	–
71	311x68139x	JON SNOW (NZ)	H	5	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	110
72	369x00640x	KELLSTORM (IRE)	H	6	Darren Weir	81
73	41x329113x	KEW GARDENS (IRE)	H	4	Aidan O’Brien	–
74	64x362x53x	KILIMANJARO (IRE)	G	7	Liam Howley	89
75	1x11111x4x	KINGS WILL DREAM (IRE)	G	5	Darren Weir	102
76	11x501211x	LADIES FIRST (NZ)	M	6	Allan Sharrock	–
77	3x1x	LAGOSTOVEGAS (IRE)	M	7	William Mullins	–
78	4452622x1x	LANCASTER BOMBER (USA)	H	5	Aidan O’Brien	–
79	37x7311x3x	LANGLEY (JPN)	H	8	Darren Weir	–
80	2x22117x	LATROBE (IRE)	H	4	Joseph O’Brien	–
81	528x420x8x	LIBRAN (IRE)	G	8	Chris Waller	–
82	920x93116x	LIFE LESS ORDINARY (IRE)	G	7	Chris Waller	103
83	114x39770x	LORD FANDANGO (GER)	H	6	Archie Alexander	–
84	14x6110x4x	LUVALUVA (NZ)	M	4	John Sargent	–
85	57x150x11x	MAGIC CIRCLE (IRE)	G	7	Ian Williams	–
86	1x69x2112x	MARMELO (GB)	H	6	Hughie Morrison	–
87	81x	MASTER OF REALITY (IRE)	H	4	Joseph O’Brien	–
88	6321x9957x	MASTER ZEPHYR (GB)	G	7	Darren Weir	87
89	45221x111x	MATERIAL MAN	G	7	Justin Warwick	–
90	36x004707x	MAX DYNAMITE (FR)	G	9	William Mullins	–
91	948x16313x	MEGABLAST (NZ)	G	7	Darren Weir	–
92	36164x0x0x	MIDTERM (GB)	G	6	Liam Howley	98
93	741x780x0x	MIGHTY BOSS	H	4	Mick Price	104
94	13323x0x	MILSEAIN (NZ)	M	4	Kris Lees	–
95	16116x	MING (IRE)	G	4	Joseph O’Brien	–
96	x419337x3x	MISS ADMIRATION	M	4	Mick Price	89
97	1x1327287x	MONGOLIANCONQUEROR (NZ)	G	4	Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards	–
98	11589x720x	MR CLARIFY (NZ)	G	6	Wayne Walters	84
99	4x57x15x8x	MR GARCIA (GB)	G	6	Darren Weir	92
100	363x27314x	MR MOONLIGHT MAGIC (GB)	H	6	James Cummings	–
101	1796x4341x	MUNTAHAA (IRE)	G	6	John Gosden	–
102	2x	MUSTAJEER (GB)	G	6	Ger Lyons	–
103	x1x5x0057x	NAKEETA (GB)	G	8	Iain Jardine	–
104	0x8914228x	NAVAL WARFARE (IRE)	G	5	Chris Waller	–
105	112x16356x	NELSON (IRE)	H	4	Aidan O’Brien	–
106	6412141x2x	NIGHT’S WATCH (NZ)	G	5	Darren Weir	91
107	1131119x4x	NORTHWEST PASSAGE	G	5	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	–
108	8x6427x34x	ODEON (NZ)	G	5	Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra	98
109	72x203x60x	ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN (IRE)	R	7	Chris Waller	–
110	7424x02x6x	OPPOSITION (GB)	G	6	Chris Waller	–
111	x2x115627x	ORDEROFTHEGARTER (IRE)	H	5	Liam Howley	98
112	572333240x	ORMITO (GER)	G	6	Darren Weir	–
113	20x051121x	OUR ABBADEAN (NZ)	M	6	Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards	–
114	40x11x	OUR LIBRETTO (NZ)	M	5	Grahame Begg	68
115	3110328x2x	OUR VENICE BEACH (IRE)	H	5	Liam Howley	104
116	1182x5134x	PACODALI (IRE)	G	6	Darren Weir	102
117	3114656x6x	PATRICK ERIN (NZ)	G	7	Chris Waller	–
118	60x049632x	PENTATHLON (NZ)	G	7	John Wheeler	–
119	151330x00x	PERIBSEN (IRE)	H	6	John O’Shea	–
120	11x824116x	PIONEERTOWN (IRE)	G	5	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	78
121	111x31x31x	PLEIN CIEL (GER)	G	6	Darren Weir	97
122	13173x5x6x	POETIC DREAM (IRE)	H	5	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	98
123	16112x332x	POUNAMU	G	7	Alan Mathews	108
124	5x2188632x	PRINCE OF ARRAN (GB)	G	6	Charlie Fellowes	–
125	x9066x9x3x	PRIZE MONEY (GB)	G	6	Saeed Bin Suroor	–
126	x11x5x0x0x	RED CARDINAL (IRE)	G	7	Darren Weir	108
127	1x1422225x	RED VERDON (USA)	H	6	Ed Dunlop	–
128	842512226x	REZEALIENT	G	4	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	–
129	212x04331x	RISING RED (NZ)	G	5	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	–
130	332230x02x	ROMANESQUE (IRE)	H	6	Jarrod McLean	75
131	13x419225x	ROSTROPOVICH (IRE)	H	4	Aidan O’Brien	–
132	x90231130x	RUNAWAY	R	4	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	80
133	x2x38x947x	SATONO RASEN (JPN)	H	7	Chris Waller	–
134	611212112x	SELF SENSE	G	8	David Brideoake	97
135	3361x8899x	SENSE OF OCCASION	G	8	Kris Lees	107
136	0x0x050x0x	SHIMRANO (GER)	G	7	Michael Hickmott	–
137	x4300x412x	SHRAAOH (IRE)	G	6	Chris Waller	–
138	4x43462L1x	SIN TO WIN (NZ)	G	6	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	90
139	420x22525x	SINGLE GAZE	M	6	Chris Waller	–
140	3314513x0x	SIR CHARLES ROAD	G	5	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	–
141	23x	SIR CHAUVELIN (GB)	G	7	Jim Goldie	–
142	31x691420x	SIR JOHN LAVERY (IRE)	H	5	Liam Howley	95
143	750x55211x	SIXTIES GROOVE (IRE)	G	6	Darren Weir	99
144	732x03705x	SOLE IMPACT (JPN)	H	7	Hirofumi Toda	–
145	x251711x8x	SOPRESSA	M	4	Darren Weir	97
146	2144x1132x	SOUND CHECK (GER)	H	6	Peter Schiergen	–
147	3219155x9x	STEPS (IRE)	G	5	Liam Howley	97
148	2x12x4310x	STRATUM (GB)	G	6	William Mullins	–
149	x11432x80x	SULLY (NZ)	G	4	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	–
150	SUPERNOVA (GB)	H	H	4	David Simcock
151	126x	SURREY	G	6	Graeme Rogerson	–
152	51x	SYDNEY BLUE	C	3	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	–
153	0000x0076x	TALL SHIP (IRE)	G	8	Darren Weir	91
154	20116x00x	TAVISTOCK ABBEY (NZ)	G	4	Anthony Freedman	68
155	1416400x0x	THE LORD MAYOR (NZ)	G	4	Chris Waller	–
156	1x3x33855x	THE PENTAGON (IRE)	H	4	Aidan O’Brien	–
157	2111x6241x	THE STATESMAN (GB)	G	5	Darren Weir	82
158	25041x8x7x	THE TAJ MAHAL (IRE)	H	5	Liam Howley	107
159	131x	THINKIN’ BIG	C	3	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	–
160	2x726x6x5x	THOMAS HOBSON (GB)	G	9	William Mullins	–
161	x70x47x25x	TIBERIAN (FR)	H	7	Alain Couetil	–
162	464521221x	TIFFANY’S LASS	M	5	Danny Laws	81
163	74x612825x	TOP OF THE RANGE (NZ)	G	5	Michael Moroney	77
164	5x22x0132x	TORCEDOR (IRE)	G	7	Andreas Wohler	–
165	8x72x3x56x	TOSEN BASIL (JPN)	H	7	Darren Weir	109
166	1116x6321x	TRAP FOR FOOLS	G	5	Jarrod McLean	101
167	11x0121x6x	UNFORGOTTEN	M	4	Chris Waller	–
168	8x3203860x	US ARMY RANGER (IRE)	G	6	Liam Howley	101
169	110x81112x	VALAC (IRE)	G	7	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	78
170	998121x05x	VENGEUR MASQUE (IRE)	G	7	Michael Moroney	103
171	00x437829x	VENTURA STORM (IRE)	G	6	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	106
172	35x463144x	VIN DE DANCE (NZ)	G	4	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	–
173	x6248x220x	WALL OF FIRE (IRE)	H	6	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	–
174	14x621x33x	WALTON STREET (GB)	G	5	Charlie Appleby	–
175	x22x132x2x	WEEKENDER (GB)	H	5	John Gosden	–
176	53x6830x4x	WHEAL LEISURE	M	5	Archie Alexander	84
177	4491x6731x	WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (NZ)	G	10	Chris Waller	–
178	2121x31x1x	WITHHOLD (GB)	G	6	Roger Charlton	–
179	x94273214x	WOLFE TONE (NZ)	H	4	Francis Finnegan	62
180	46x4421x2x	YOGI (NZ)	G	6	Darren Weir	94
181	54x311113x	YOUNGSTAR	M	4	Chris Waller	–
182	1x32x3x	YUCATAN (IRE)	H	5	Aidan O’Brien	–
183	325158402x	ZACADA (NZ)	G	6	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	–