Flemington betting odds are also available as part of the Australian horse race card experience and you might even be able to get Australian racing betting tips on the action, with meetings coming thick and fast when the season is in full swing.
This major horse racing venue is located in Victoria and it’s owned by the Victoria Racing Club, with the races screened locally on Seven Network and Network 10, although many bookmakers are able to acquire the live streaming rights online and it’s not uncommon to find operators who allow you to log into your account and enjoy the action live.
You can enjoy different types of horse racing at Flemington, with flat, jumps and steeplechase races taking place although flat racing is by far the most common. The track’s distance is actually nearly one and a half miles long and the course resembles a pear.
When it comes to the racing straight, it’s roughly six furlongs long and that means we get plenty of time to watch the action unfold in the big races, with “The Straight Six” having played host to some brilliant sporting drama over the decades and much of it has centred on The Melbourne Cup.
Bet on the Melbourne Cup at Flemington
If you’ve ever placed a bet on Australian horse racing, there’s a fair chance that you have punted on the Melbourne Cup. This sporting encounter is regarded as the only moment that the whole country of Australia stands still to watch the world’s richest handicap and it’s also the world’s richest 3,200 metre race.
This is a race over a distance which means the horses require plenty of stamina and all the qualified horses have had to win a race or place to land a spot in an encounter where the bookies often report a record turnover. The race was first held in 1861 and has grown enormously in popularity, with the purse now standing at $8,000,000 which means that the winner land several million Australian dollars.
Winning the Melbourne Cup is a dream for many racing trainers and the initial entry fee is $600 per horse, although the final field is limited to 24 runners and it’s only the highest rated horses that actually make the grade, while the winners of any of the below races are exempt from being balloted out:
- Lexus Stakes
- Cox Plate
- Caulfield Cup
- The Bart Cummings (from 2015)
- Andrew Ramsden Stakes (from 2019)
- Doncaster Cup (UK)
- Irish St. Leger (IRE)
- Tenno Sho (Spring) (JPN)
- Sankei Sho All Comers (JPN)
- Arlington Million (USA)
- San Juan Capistrano Handicap (USA)
- Australian Stayers Challenge
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of overseas horses that have entered the race, although it’s not been very often that they have managed to overturn Australian horses who are clearly more adept at performing Down Under given that they’re more used to the conditions.
There have been many historic performances in the Melbourne Cup although perhaps the greatest achievement was the consecutive wins enjoyed by Makybe Diva who came on to the scene as a mare and claimed a victory in 2003 and 2004. She then claimed a further win in 2005 and remains the only triple winner of this race.
Bet on the Victoria Derby at Flemington
The Melbourne Cup Carnival also plays host to the Victoria Derby which takes place on the first day of the meeting and the prize money is roughly $2,000,000 which means it’s a lucrative heat for many owners and trainers.
This is a race for three-year-olds under Set Weights and it is run over a distance of 2,500 metres, with Star of the Realm holding the record for a victory in 1991 when winning at a time of 2:33.
The LKS Mackinnon Stakes is another Group 1 encounter under Weight for Age conditions and this traditionally takes place on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, with this race also known as the Melbourne Stakes.