The 2021 Melbourne Cup will jump at 3pm AEDT on Tuesday, November 2 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 161 years of Melbourne Cup racing.
Melbourne Cup winners by age
| AGE | WINS |
|---|---|
| Three-year-olds | 23 Wins |
| Four-year-olds | 46 Wins |
| Five-year-olds | 44 Wins |
| Six-year-olds | 32 Wins |
| Seven-year-olds | 11 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 159 runnings to date.
At the other end of the spectrum, horses aged seven or older have won the great race only 14 times in total. In this century, only Makybe Diva (2005) and Almandin (2016) have won the race as seven-year-olds. The last eight-year-old winner of the Melbourne Cup was Twilight Payment in last years running of the cup, and he is attempting to be the only nine-year-old to win the cup in 2021.
However, it is worth noting an interesting recent trend. Three of the past four winners were four-year-old horses Vow And Declare (2019), Cross Counter (2018), Rekindling (2017).
2021 Melbourne Cup Field
| No. | Silks | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Twilight Payment | Joseph O’Brien | Jye McNeil | 2 | 58kg | $11 |
| 2 |  |
Incentivise | Peter Moody | Brett Prebble | 16 | 57kg | $2.50 |
| 3 |  |
Spanish Mission | Andrew Balding | Craig Williams | 14 | 57kg | $9 |
| 4 |  |
Verry Elleegant | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 19 | 57kg | $15 |
| 5 |  |
Explosive Jack | C Maher & D Eustace | John Allen | 4 | 54kg | $51 |
| 6 |  |
The Chosen One | M Baker & A Forsman | Damian Lane | 5 | 54kg | $61 |
| 7 |  |
Delphi | A & S Freedman | Damien Oliver | 3 | 53.5kg | $41 |
| 8 |  |
Ocean Billy | Chris Waller | Damian Thornton | 13 | 53.5kg | $101 |
| 9 |  |
Selino | Chris Waller | Ron Stewart | 24 | 53.5kg | $151 |
| 10 |  |
Johnny Get Angry | Denis Pagan | Lachlan King | 22 | 53kg | $101 |
| 11 |  |
Knights Order | G Waterhouse & A Bott | Daniel Stackhouse | 9 | 53kg | $201 |
| 12 |  |
Persan | C Maher & D Eustace | Luke Currie | 11 | 53kg | $31 |
| 13 |  |
Carif | P & P Snowden | Blaike McDougall | 8 | 52.5kg | $201 |
| 14 |  |
Master Of Wine | Team Hawkes | Fred Kersley | 6 | 52.5kg | $101 |
| 15 |  |
Pondus | Robert Hickmott | Rachel King | 1 | 52.5kg | $41 |
| 16 |  |
Grand Promenade | C Maher & D Eustace | Kerrin McEvoy | 21 | 52kg | $21 |
| 17 |  |
Miami Bound | Danny O’Brien | Patrick Moloney | 17 | 52kg | $151 |
| 18 |  |
Port Guillaume | Ben & JD Hayes | Harry Coffey | 23 | 52kg | $151 |
| 19 |  |
She’s Ideel | Bjorn Baker | Craig Newitt | 20 | 52kg | $101 |
| 20 |  |
Future Score | Matt Cumani | Dean Yendall | 15 | 51.5kg | $301 |
| 21 |  |
Tralee Rose | Symon Wilde | Dean Holland | 12 | 51kg | $17 |
| 22 |  |
Floating Artist | C Maher & D Eustace | Teo Nugent | 10 | 50kg | $18 |
| 23 |  |
Great House | Chris Waller | Michael Dee | 7 | 50kg | $31 |
| 24 |  |
Sir Lucan | G Waterhouse & A Bott | Glen Boss | 18 | 50kg | $26 |
