The Melbourne Cup is one of Australia’s biggest days with millions of dollars being bet on Race 7 – the Emirates Melbourne Cup as every vies to make quick fortune, woud you like to know how to win that money? Maybe which horse is the best horse to bet on? Read on….

Theres alot to take in when you are a newcomer to the horse racing scene especially when its a large event like the Melbourne Cup with alot of media attention especially on the horses and the bookies putting forward ‘their’ favourites to win, but when you look at it, it comes down to 3 important things:

The Horse’s form Is the horse 100% before the race? How much weight is the horse actually carrying?

Lets expand on these.

1. The horses form?… well you can get this from looking at a form guide, this will tell you how well the horse has performed in its recent 4 races, for example ‘Alcopop’ currently shows 1111 in the form guide which means he has won the last 4 races, a commendable effort and one worth noting if you are placing a bet on the cup. In short look at how the horse has performed in its previous races, if there is no number it means that it has only been in 1 – 3 races or less.

2. Albeit they weigh in at over half a tonne, a horse is actually a very fragile animal a small rock in its hoof can lame it and prevent it from racing properly, a bad nights sleep or even knocking its head prior to the race, be sure to look at the horses when they are being taken on a lap of the yard prior to the event starting or you may be making a bad bet.

3. This is one that doesn’t get enough attention, people say that a horse is carrying 58kg (Viewed this year) however you have to add the weight of the heavy vest that a jockey will wear for protection so ‘Viewed’ is more than likely carrying a weight of 60kg. Where as ‘Leica Ding’ Sport Bet Australia’s favourite for the cup will only be carrying 52kg which is a considerable difference, its worth noting that Leica Ding came 1st in this years Geelong Cup, the same feat as Bauer last year except she carrying less weight than he did when ‘Viewed’ beat him in the 2008 Melbourne Cup.

Finally you should bet smart, don’t use strange sites that don’t seem legitimate and if you can’t afford to lose then you shouldn’t be betting in the first place. Be sure to visit Sport Bet Australia for the latest odds and news on the cup as it unfolds tomorrow at Flemington Race Course.

The Melbourne Cup is raced at 3pm (local time) on the first Tuesday in November and has been in existence since 1861 – to put that into perspective that is the same year that the American Civil War started.
That first race was won by a horse called Archer, who legend has it walked 500 miles from its stable in New South Wales to race. His prize was not a cup at all, instead the winning owner was presented with a hand – beaten gold watch. Archer went on to win the race again the following year. Archer in fact is only one of five horses to have won the Cup more than once.

The Melbourne Cup is raced over a distance of 2 miles and is open to horses aged three years and over. It is run at the Flemington race track in Melbourne, which has a crowd capacity of over 120,000 and they sell every ticket every year without fail. The race track is shaped similarly to a pear and has a back straight of six furlongs known as the ’straight six’. The final straight to the post is a demanding 450 metres long which has been decisive in many races over its history. The course also hosts the Australian VRC Derby, the VRC Oaks, the Australia Cup and the Lightening Stakes.

Makybe Diva holds the record for the most race wins: this mare won the race in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and was the highest Stakes earner in the history of Australian horse racing. She is only one of 11 mares and 3 fillies ever to have won the race; such has been the dominance of the colts and geldings.

Despite Makybe Diva’s success, the Melbourne Cup’s most famous winner was the great Phar Lap, who dominated horse racing in Australia from 1929 to 1932 winning the Melbourne Cup in 1930 and a dozen other top rated races. A very impressive bronze statue has been built and is now one of the many great features at the Flemington race track.

The 2008 winner of the Melbourne Gold Cup was a horse named Viewed trained by the man known as the “Cups King”, Bart Cummings. Cummings has trained a formidable 12 winners of the Melbourne Cup down the years, with his earliest victory dating back to 1965 when Light Fingers. During his illustrious career Cummings has only trained one horse to two Melbourne Cup victories and that was Think Big in 1974 and 1975. It remains to be see if Viewed will take his chance for a second year running, but if he does you can be sure that Bart Cummings will stand a great chance of adding a 13th Melbourne Cup victory to his roll of honour.

The Melbourne Cup has several other fringe attractions also. From the days of its origin, the Cup is a place where the high society of Australia makes an appearance and they definitely make sure they are seen. Hence, every year, Flemington naturally transforms into a venue for a very interesting and spectacular fashion parade where members of the high society vie with each other in the choice of their apparels and accessories and their style and fashion.

A racewear competition for men and women is held during the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The women’s competition is held as part of the distinguished MYERS Fashions on the Field that searches the whole of Australia to find the most stylishly and well dressed women in Australia. The focus on fashion has grown so much over the years that one feels that it sometimes overshadows the importance of the race itself.

All over Australia, in all the states, there are several events organised to celebrate the Melbourne Cup in various ways. Besides racewear competitions that are held in every state to find the best dressed men and women, the Design Award and the Millinery Award, there are small wagers, heavy betting and sweepstakes. Outside of Melbourne, both in Australia and New Zealand, people watch the race on television and gamble through direct betting or through wagers at the workplace or any other clubs or organisations. In New Zealand, the Melbourne Cup is the biggest betting event and the races are shown live on big screens on the major tracks.

Sydney has its own share of events and live entertainment organised in connection with the Melbourne Cup. Races shown on giant screens and walls, trackside marquees, fashion parades, indoor, garden and rooftop parties, wagers and sweepstakes are some of them. In Sydney, leading restaurants offer interesting lunch and dining options on the Melbourne Cup Day. The events organised around the Sydney Harbour make the best out of the beautiful views offered by the world’s most beautiful natural harbour. There are lunch, dinner and party options available around the harbour. These events combine the advantages of the beauty of the harbour as well as the excitement of the Cup, making them the best celebrations of the Melbourne Cup around the Sydney Harbour. On the pre-Melbourne Cup Lunch Cruise offered by the Magistic Cruises, one can indulge in a great lunch and wine, or champagne in celebration of the Cup, and enjoy the views around the Sydney Harbour. The cruise returns you ashore in time to watch the pre-race celebrations and then the actual race, in great excitement and high spirits!

History of Melbourne Cup:
It all started back in 1861 when on November 7 a total of 17 horses raced for the first ever Melbourne Cup Day. The first prize was a hand beaten gold watch and £170 in prize money. Archer was the first winner ever of this race that has continued to delight a nation ever since. Archer, the winning horse took a full 3:52 to cross the final line after two miles of hard racing, which makes this the slowest win in the history of the Melbourne Cup.

Then in 1916 the actual Cup was first presented to a winner on race day to all Melbourne Cup winners thereafter. Melbourne Cup Day also got its regular slot in 1875 when race officials selected to move the date to the first Tuesday each November. Back then some 4000 spectators attended the now world famous race and over the next 10 years race day saw a crowd of 100,000.

Melbourne Cup Day’s biggest attendance numbers:
To date the biggest numbers seen on Melbourne Cup Day were back in 2000 when over 120,000 people visited Flemington Racecourse, Victoria’s prestigious racing club and saw ‘Brew’ race over the finish line first. Then a few years later, in 1972 the Melbourne Cup thoroughbred horse race was converted from the existing two mile distance to a metric distance of 3200 metres. This made it 18.69 metres short of two miles.

Melbourne Cup Winners:
A lot has happened since Archer won the first Melbourne Cup race back in 1861. These days the stakes are worth billions and people all over the nation invest their savings to bet on the famous race in order to pick up some of the sweepstakes. Some get it while most don’t.

Over the past five years, Cup Day has gotten even more exciting (if that is in any way possible,) and here are some of the Melbourne Cup winners of the past five years:

2008: Viewed
2007: Efficient
2006: Delta Blues
2005: Makybe Diva
2004: Makybe Diva

In the history of Melbourne Cup Day the most famous winner to date would have to be Phar Lap (1926–1932). Phar Lap became an Australian icon after winning the Melbourne Cup in 1930 amongst 13 others, during the great depression. After having won the prestigious Cup in 1930, he won two Cox Plate titles (another noteworthy Australian horse race,) and a total of 19 other titles in various races. Whilst in America Phar Lap unfortunatley died of a mysterious illness and conspiracy theories still point to American Mafia involvement.

Phar Lap is still one of the most revered thoroughbred horses in the world to this day.

Melbourne Cup day celebrities:
If you are looking for celebrities that have continued to influence horse trainers and fans all over the world it would have to be the likes of Phar Lap, Makybe Diva and of course Bart Cummings, the charismatic ‘Cup King’ who has won the Melbourne Cup as a trainer a staggering 12 times.

To date Cummings raced a record 78 runners on Melbourne Cup Day, starting in 1958. Thanks to a flourishing racing career that is still ongoing Cummings was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1991. His last win was last year when his horse ‘Viewed’ won the race on Melbourne Cup Day.

If you would like to know more about the Melbourne Cup and the Horses participating in the 2009 race be sure to take a look at our odds table for up to date online betting options, make your winning bet with Sport Bet!

Horse betting odds and how you can increase your chances of backing a winner:

Backing a winning horse with favourable odds is just about everyone’s dream when it comes to sports betting. But as it happens none of us is any the wiser when we finally pick our sweep stakes, the only thing that sets the winners apart from the losers is inside knowledge of the stars of the show – the thoroughbred horses and chance luck.

Serious punters stay informed about each horse’s condition prior to the race. Anyone keen enough to attend the action of the Melbourne Cup arranges for accommodation months before the event to secure a suitable stay close to Flemington.

If you do the math of a random horse selection your chances of backing a winner would be 1 in X, X being the number of horse in the race. For example if 14 horses compete then your chance would be 1 in 14 in that instance. In percentages this would mean a 7.14 % chance of picking a winner.

Naturally when you bet you are given the odds of each horse to aid you in selecting a perceived winner or an outsider. In the end one never truly knows until the race has been won.

How much money do I need to bet on the Melbourne Cup 2009?

It is entirely up to you how much of your money you like to wager on any given horse. You can bet $20, $100 or even thousands. Some reckon that all punters combined bet around $140 million on the race each year.

You should only bet the money you can safely afford to lose.

Not keen on betting?

Not everyone is keen on placing bets on the Melbourne Cup 2009. If you rather save your money why not open a term deposit account or else bet on a trifecta because the potential win is higher than with a term deposit. Of course the risks are higher too but then there is no gain without pain. You knew that didn’t you?