Melbourne Cup 2024: Onesmoothoperator brings improving form down under
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The Grade 1 Melbourne Cup is the race that stops a nation. The 2024 edition of the race happens Tuesday, November 7 at Flemington. The race covers two miles on the lawn, the field can feature up to 24 horses, and this all makes the Melbourne Cup one of the best and most lucrative horse race betting opportunities of the year.
If you are playing the Melbourne Cup in North America, remember that because of the time difference the race happens Monday night. Start time is at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Melbourne, but it happens at 11 p.m. Monday in Eastern time, and 8 p.m. Monday in Pacific time. With such a huge field of classy horses, it is well worth setting your alarm to get your bets in!
Read on to find out the best bets in the 2024 Melbourne Cup, and the best online racebooks for playing it online.
Betting the Melbourne Cup Online
Make sure to set yourself up for the most profitable experience betting on horse racing now and all year long by signing up for the right online sportsbook. You have many options out there, but our online racebook reviews have the information you need to pick the best option quickly, easily, and with confidence.
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Melbourne Cup Contenders
These are early declarants for the 2024 Melbourne Cup in order of priority, including trainers, jockeys (if announced), and weight assignments (if final).
- Vauban (Willie Mullins / William Buick) - 55.5kg
- Circle of Fire (Ciaron Maher / Mark Zahra) - 54.5kg
- Buckaroo (Chris Waller / Joao Moreira) - 54.5kg
- Warp Speed (Noburur Takagi / Akira Sugawara) - 54.5kg
- Zardozi (James Cummings / Andrea Atzeni) - 51kg
- Sharp ‘n’ Smart (Graeme and Deborah Rogerson / Michael Dee) - 53.5kg
- Kovalica (Chris Waller / Damian Lane) - 53.5kg
- Just Fine (Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott / Jye McNeil) - 53kg
- Land Legend (Chris Waller / Zac Purton) - 53.5kg
- Absurde (Willie Mullins / Kerrin McEvoy) - 52.5kg
- Athabascan (John O’Shea and Tom Charlton / Zac Lloyd) - 52kg
- Mahrajaan (Shaun Ritchie and Colm Murray / Declan Bates) - 52kg
- Knight’s Choice (John Symonds and Sheila Laxon / TBA) - 51.5kg
- Okita Soushi (Ciaron Maher / Jamie Kah) - 51kg
- Onesmoothoperator (Brian Ellison / Craig Williams) - 51kg
- Muramasa (Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young / Tyler Schiller) - 51kg
- Valiant King (Chris Waller / Craig Newitt) - 50.5kg
- Interpretation (Ciaron Maher / Teo Nugent) - 50kg
- Fancy Man (Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald / Ron Stewart) - 50kg
- Sea King (Harry Eustace / Hollie Doyle) - TBA, after Bendigo Cup (G3) win
- Mostly Cloudy (Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young / Karis Teetan) - 50kg
- Positivity (Andrew Forsman / Winona Costin) - 50kg
- The Map (Dan Clarkin / Oopy MacGillivray) - 50kg
- Mission of Love (John Symons and Sheila Laxon / Nikita Beriman) - 50kg
- Trust In You (Bruce Wallace and Grant Cooksley / TBA) - 50kg - ALSO ELIGIBLE
The final post draw for the Melbourne Cup happens Saturday, November 2; on that day, final jockey assignments and post positions will be determined.
Make sure to watch the odds at the online sportsbook you chose. As the race gets closer, sportsbooks will offer odds on the Melbourne Cup. Watch those prices, and be ready to make your play as soon as you see an overlay on the horse you want to play. Then, be confident that you have the best price when your horse wins the race!
Melbourne Cup Best Bet
Onesmoothoperator is well weighted at 51kg, and is a new and exciting face in the Australian staying ranks. He was a solid handicap-level stayer in England before heading down under to try for the Melbourne Cup. The trip has gone well so far: in his prep race, the Geelong Cup (G3), he won by daylight over a solid horse in Interpretation.
He has more staying experience than most runners near the top of the market, his prep has been a live one in recent times, and he can improve further in his second Australian start.
Melbourne Cup Favorites
Though Vauban was the beaten favorite last year, and comes in the 55.5kg highweight this year, there are reasons he can perform better this time around. Instead of giving him a long time in Australia before the race this year, Willie Mullins kept him back in Ireland a while longer. In his final prep, he was a strong second behind the world’s best stayer, Kyprios, in the Irish St. Leger (G1). He’s the class of the field.
With horses like Via Sistina and Jan Brueghel being ruled out, Buckaroo is likely to inherit the spot at the top of the market. On one hand, he has quality form, with a close second to next-out Cox Plate (G1) winner Via Sistina two back and then a second in the Caulfield Cup (G1). But, between his high weight and his lack of two-mile experience, the win price will be short.
Melbourne Cup Exotic Horses
Oh, how things change in a year. Last year, off a flat final prep, Okita Soushi was a 100-1 outsider in the race that stops a nation, and checked in a perfectly credible 11th given that. This year, he won the Moonee Valley Gold Cup (G2) in his final prep, and was a good second in a Group 2 in his second-to-last race as well. With only 51kg on his back, he can outrun his odds.
Land Legend has to lug 53.5kg, giving weight to several serious contenders. But, the class is there: he won the Metropolitan (G1) two starts ago and was a perfectly fine third in the Caulfield Cup (G1) last out. He has also won going as long as 1 ⅝ miles. Interpretation, a perfectly good sixth in the Melbourne Cup last year, was second behind top choice Onesmoothoperator in the Geelong Cup last out and only has to carry 50kg.
Free Melbourne Cup Bets
The Melbourne Cup is one of the horse racing betting events of the year. You know where you’re going to bet it and you know the major contenders. So now, it’s time for the best part: betting the 2024 Melbourne Cup!
Here are the expert best bets for the Melbourne Cup:
- $20 to win - Onesmoothoperator
- $1 exacta key - Onesmoothoperator with Land Legend, Okita Soushi, Vauban
- $0.50 trifecta key - Onesmoothoperator with Interpretation, Land Legend, Okita Soushi, Vauban
- $0.20 superfecta key - $0.50 trifecta key - Onesmoothoperator with Buckaroo, Interpretation, Land Legend, Okita Soushi, Vauban
