2018 Melbourne Cup schedule: Start time for every race
The schedule for Melbourne Cup Day in 2018 has been announced, with it to be held on the first Tuesday in November, which, in 2018, is November 6. As always, the headline event of the day will begin at 3pm (AEST), however, there are ten races on the schedule.
The Melbourne Cup is the richest two-mile handicap race in the world and the biggest event on Australia’s racing calendar. Here’s the 2018 Melbourne Cup start time, as well as the times for every race during Australia’s biggest day on the racing calendar.
The distance of the race is, as always, 3200m at the Flemington racecourse.
While the $7.3 million Melbourne Cup is the main attraction and the pinnacle of the racing industry in Australia, there’s still plenty of other action across the day with nine other races to be run.
You can catch all the racing action on the big day with highlights, live updates and results on The Roar.
While the exact start and finish times on the day tend to change around due to the unpredictability of race length, horse behaviour, and other factors, the whole day should be about seven hours from the start of the first race to the end of the last.
The first event is scheduled to start at 11am (AEDT) with roughly 40-minute intervals between every race throughout the day. There will, however, be an extended interval either side of the Melbourne Cup itself.
In between races 6 and 7, there will be a longer break, as mentioned, to introduce the jockeys and horses for the Cup, as well as the singing of the national anthem just before the horses head into the barriers.
The 2018 Melbourne Cup schedule has been released and can be found below.
2018 Melbourne Cup start time, race schedule
| Race No. | Time (AEDT) | Race | Distance | Prize money |
| 1 | 11:00 AM | Ottawa Stakes | 1000m | $150,000 |
| 2 | 11:40 AM | Tab.com.au Trophy | 1700m | $120,000 |
| 3 | 12:15 PM | Lavazza Short Black | 1400m | $120,000 |
| 4 | 12:50 PM | Ronald Mcdonald House Charities Plate | 2800m | $120,000 |
| 5 | 1:25 PM | Schweppes Flemington Fling | 1000m | $120,000 |
| 6 | 2:00 PM | Lexus Hybrid Plate | 1400m | $150,000 |
| 7 | 3:00 PM | Melbourne Cup | 3200m | $6,000,000 |
| 8 | 4:05 PM | James Boag’s Premium Stakes | 1800m | $150,000 |
| 9 | 4:45 PM | MSS Security Sprint | 1200m | $150,000 |
| 10 | 5:20 PM | The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes | 1400m | $200,000 |
The Roar makes every attempt to ensure that our information is accurate and up-to-date. However, we do advise that you check the official copy of the schedule closer to the day to make sure you don’t miss out on anything.