The First Melbourne Cup was run on a Tuesday in 1875
There have been 5 Melbourne Cup Winners to win more than once
Makybe Diva is the only Melbourne Cup Winner to win it 3 times
Bart Cummings still holds the record for the most Melbourne Cup Wins as a trainer
Michelle Payne is the only female jockey to ever win a Melbourne Cup and did so on Prince of Penzance in 2015.
As an owner there is only 4 owners to ever win the Melbourne Cup 3 times. These are John Tait, Etienne de Mestre and Dato Tan Chin Nam although it should be noted that Etienne was only leasing the winner for 3 of those wins.
There has never been a dead heat in a Melbourne Cup although back in 2011 there nearly was with Dunaden and Red Cadeaux.
The Melbourne Cup field size is now 24 runners but back in the 1800’s there could be as many as 39.
Although Barriers were only introduced in 1924 some 49 years after the first Melbourne Cup was run there has never been a horse to win from Barrier 18.
Now for some questions from our followers
What is the largest Melbourne Cup Trifecta dividend ever paid out?
The largest Melbourne Cup Trifecta paid $61,867.90 and was over 20 years ago now in 1993 when Vintage Crop won the Melbourne Cup as a 7 year old.
Is the Caulfield Cup a good indication of whether a horse can win a Melbourne Cup?
We think it is, and the statistics show that of horses that won the Caulfield Cup 11 of these have actually gone on to win a Melbourne Cup, although it has been 15 years since a horse has done the double, statistics indicate that we are overdue for a Caulfield/Melbourne Cup double!