The Race that Stops the Nation captures the imagination of much of Australia, as even those with no real interest in horse racing become glued to the TV for a few minutes to see how their Melbourne Cup horses get on. Now you can share in the excitement with your friends, family or workmates by downloading our Melbourne Cup sweepstake kit to use at work or with friends.
Download our 2023 Sweepstake Kit
The 24 Melbourne Cup runners have been confirmed, although the late scratching of Cleveland means we’ll actually see just 23 horses take part in the race. Whether you’re the sort of person who spends hours studying the form, or you’re completely new to the world of horse racing, it’s possible to have fun by taking part in a Melbourne Cup sweepstake.
Once you’ve picked your horse, you can also check out our horse-by-horse Melbourne Cup runners guide to find out how likely it is that you’ve chosen this year’s winner. You might even want to top up your potential winnings by backing your Melbourne Cup sweepstake pick with a bookmaker, so take a look at our recommended Melbourne Cup betting offers and sites before the horses set off, or sign up using the links below.
Step 1 – Split the prize pot
Decide how much it costs to enter your Melbourne Cup sweepstake. This is completely up to you but asking for $5 per horse would give you a $120 pot in a 24 horse race. The winner could then receive $60, with the runner-up getting $35, and third place taking home $20, to leave $5 for whoever is unlucky enough to pick the final horse to finish the race.
Step 2 – Get people involved
Find a group of friends, family or workmates that you’d like to join your Melbourne Cup sweepstake. Ideally there’ll be 24 of you, so each person can have one horse to cheer on, but just give people more than one horse if you haven’t got the right number to take part.
Step 3 – Put the horses in a hat
Print two copies and cut out the runners into individual pieces of paper. Fold them and put them into a hat or a similar container. Each person pulls one horse’s name out of the hat.
Step 4 – Write down who owns each horse
Write each person’s name down beside the horse that they selected. You can even point them to our Melbourne Cup horses page so have an idea of whether their pick is likely to sink or swim.
Step 5 – Sell all the horses
Make sure you sell all the horses so there’s definitely a winner and you’ve got enough money in the prize pot to pay out the lucky few at the end of the race. If you still have some horses left after everyone has bought one, check if anyone wants a second or third selection.
Step 6 – Watch the race and pay out the winners
Once the race has taken place let everyone know who has won.
Melbourne Cup Sweepstake FAQ
Our step-by-step Melbourne Cup sweepstake guide will hopefully help you through the whole process of running a sweepstake, but you can also find some common questions below.
The horses that are running in the Melbourne Cup will be known by the weekend before the race. We’ll update our free Melbourne Cup sweepstake kit shortly after this, so you’ll have enough time to carry out your Melbourne Cup sweepstake before the race on Tuesday afternoon.
Although the intricacies of a Melbourne Cup sweepstake may way, the basic process is actually very straightforward. Simply print off the horse names, cut them up and put them into a pot before asking your friends or colleague to pick their selections randomly. You can also refer to our step-by-step guide above for a helping hand.
The process of carrying out a virtual Melbourne Cup sweepstake is fairly similar to doing the sweepstake in person. Rather than having your workmates or friends pick out their horses in person, you can either draw the horses from a hat on their behalf or use a random number generator. Just make sure they trust you to avoid any arguments!
Most bookmakers and betting sites will pay out on each way bets if your horse finishes in fourth place nowadays. Some may even stretch to the top five places, but ultimately it’s up to you how to divide your Melbourne Cup sweepstake pot.
