HorseBetting.com.au takes a look at some of the big questions behind the 2024 Melbourne Cup, including which age bracket has had the most success in the great race.
The 2024 Melbourne Cup will jump at 3pm AEDT on Tuesday, November 5 at Flemington Racecourse. This year’s race has drawn a bumper field and promises to be one of the toughest to tip in recent years.
Several factors come in to play when picking a horse at Melbourne Cup betting sites, including the weights, the barrier draw and the lead-up races. Another key point to consider is the age of the runners – in particular, which age range has produced the most winners over the past 163 years of Melbourne Cup racing.
| AGE | WINS |
|---|---|
| Three-year-olds | 23 Wins |
| Four-year-olds | 46 Wins |
| Five-year-olds | 44 Wins |
| Six-year-olds | 35 Wins |
| Seven-year-olds | 12 Wins |
| Eight-year-olds | 3 Wins |
The table above clearly demonstrates that some horses are better candidates than others in the Melbourne Cup betting depending on their age. More than half of all Melbourne Cup winners have been either four-year-old or five-year-old horses, with 90 wins combined from 163 runnings to date.
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At the other end of the spectrum, horses aged seven or older have won the great race only 15 times in total. In this century, only Makybe Diva (2005), Almandin (2016) and Without A Fight (2023) have won the race as seven-year-olds. The last eight-year-old winner of the Melbourne Cup was Twilight Payment (2020).
2021 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant won the race as a six-year-old.
Melbourne Cup Runner-by-Runner betting guide & racing tips
