Melbourne Cup 2026: date, start time and public holiday
Tuesday 3 November at Flemington, 3pm in Melbourne. Start times for every state, who gets the day off and where the race is shown.
The 2026 Melbourne Cup is on Tuesday 3 November at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. The race is due to start at 3pm AEDT, as it has for years, on a card that begins at 10.45am. If you only need the time where you live, the table below has it.
What time does the Melbourne Cup start in 2026?
The Victoria Racing Club runs the Cup at 3pm Melbourne time. Daylight saving is on in Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT, Tasmania and South Australia by early November, so the clock on the wall differs from state to state.
| Where you are | Local start time |
|---|---|
| Victoria, NSW, ACT, Tasmania | 3.00pm AEDT |
| South Australia | 2.30pm ACDT |
| Queensland | 2.00pm AEST |
| Northern Territory | 1.30pm ACST |
| Western Australia | 12.00pm AWST |
| New Zealand | 5.00pm NZDT |
The jump can slip by a minute or two if a horse plays up at the barriers. Coverage starts well before that, so there is no risk of missing it if you tune in at a quarter to.
Is Melbourne Cup Day a public holiday?
In Victoria, yes. Business Victoria lists Tuesday 3 November 2026 as a statewide public holiday. The one exception is a regional council that has asked to swap the day for a local event, usually its own show or race meeting.
Hindmarsh Shire is an example this year. Rainbow takes its holiday on 13 October and Nhill and nearby towns on 15 October, while the rest of the shire stays with Cup Day. If you work in country Victoria, check your council's notice before you plan the long weekend.
Outside Victoria the Cup is not a state public holiday. Plenty of offices still stop at 3pm for a sweep and a screen, and some workplaces give the afternoon off, but that is the employer's choice.
Does all of Victoria get the day off?
Almost all of it. Metropolitan Melbourne always keeps Cup Day. The swaps only apply in non-metro council areas that applied for one, and the substitute day is a full public holiday in those places instead of 3 November, not on top of it.
How long is the race?
The Cup is run over 3200 metres, two miles in the old measure, and takes a little over three minutes and twenty seconds. Kingston Rule set the race record of 3:16.3 in 1990. It is a Group 1 handicap: the better a horse's record, the more weight it carries, which is why the race is so hard to pick.
How many horses run and when is the field known?
The maximum field is 24. Nominations are whittled down over the spring, final acceptances close on Saturday 31 October, Derby Day, and the barrier draw follows that evening. Until then any list of runners is provisional, and markets move a lot once the barriers are known.
How much prize money is the Melbourne Cup worth?
The VRC's race-day guide lists the 2026 Cup at $8.66 million in prize money, spread down the placings, with the largest share going to the winner. The winning owners also receive the gold Cup trophy, and the trainer and jockey get replicas.
How much does the jockey get for winning?
Under the usual arrangement in Australian racing, the jockey receives 5 per cent of the prize money the horse earns. On a winner's share in the millions that comes to a six-figure sum before the jockey pays management and other costs.
Which TV channel shows the Melbourne Cup?
Nine holds the free-to-air rights to the Melbourne Cup Carnival from 2024 to 2029, so the race is on Channel 9 and streams free on 9Now. Sky Racing and the TAB app also carry it, and racing.com shows coverage across the carnival.
Who won the Melbourne Cup last year?
Half Yours won in 2025, ridden by Jamie Melham and trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy. Melham was the first woman to ride the winner since Michelle Payne on Prince of Penzance in 2015. There were 24 runners that day.
Going to Flemington
Gates open at 9am. General admission was listed at $60 for adults if bought by Wednesday 28 October, with reserved seats in the Hill and Lawn stands costing more. Trains run from Southern Cross and Flinders Street to the course, and that is by far the easiest way in.
Cup Day is the second of four race days. The Melbourne Cup Carnival guide has Derby Day, Oaks Day and Stakes Day, and the sports calendar shows where the spring racing season sits in the year.
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