Cup Betting
The Melbourne Cup is the largest betting event in Australia on an annual basis.
For a single horse race, the Cup generates over a $100 million turnover.
We’re not quite sure of the actual amount, but estimates put it well north of that figure; certainly not less.
Seasoned punters won’t need any invitation in putting on a bet, usually with the Australian TAB or with their online betting agency of choice.
The thing to remember with a race like the Melbourne Cup is that the betting pool becomes larger than usual, as one off punters come out of the woodwork once a year to put a bet on.
They’ll usually pop down to the local TAB and have a flutter.
Sometimes a less than scientific approach is taken to putting on a bet, such as the horses name, the jockeys silks/colours, the saddle cloth number, how much it’s paying on the tote, or (for those of you on course) whether the horse winked at you as it was being paraded in the birdcage!
List of Melbourne Cup Bet Types
For those of you reading this page with little to no experience putting on a bet, here is a simple guide.
If you heading down to the local TAB, or have gone online with a betting agency, these are the bet types you should get familiar with:
Win bet – you select a horse to win the race. For example, you put $10 to win on a horse that has odds of $4.00. If it wins, you receive $40.00 as your payout. Less the $10.00 you initially invested; your net gain is $30.00.
Place bet – you select a horse to run a place (first, second or third). Similar to the above example, if your horse has odds of $3.00 to run a place and you put $10.00 on it, and it runs second, you receive $30.00 as your payout. Less the $10.00 you initially invested; your net gain is $20.00.
Each Way bet – each way means putting a bet on for a horse to win and at the same time to run a place. So if the horse wins you get a dividend for both winning the race and for placing first in the race. If the horse comes second you only get a payout on the place dividend only.
Quinella bet – this is also a popular bet even though the pools might be lesser. A Quinella means that you’ll pick a horse to run first and another to run second. They can place in either order.
Exacta – is basically the same as a Quinella but you have to determine the exact order of your horses which comes in 1st and 2nd. The payout between an exacta and a quinella is marginally higher for an exacta.
Trifecta – is a bit harder to win due to the additional combinations of results that can arise, depending on how many horses you select in your bet. A trifecta is paid out on the placings of the first three horses across the line. The typical Trifecta bet is to box your horses and let the system work out the number of combinations that will arise, factored by the bet amount you are putting on. The unit cost for a single combination can be as low as 50c. As a hypothetical example, if you selected 5 horses in your trifecta and your total possible number of combinations works out to 20, then your bet will be 20 by 50 cents which is $10.
First Four – essentially the same principle as a trifecta, this time factoring the first four horses over the line. As can be expected the payout for this can be large, particularly if an outsider wins.
There are other bet types available that are considered to be exotic bets, but we won’t cover them here. Things like quaddies, running doubles and lay bets.
Who does KRUZEY recommend?
Kruzey does a lot of work with just about every betting agency there is in Australia, but these are the three that stand out for us.
NEDS – One of the more recent additions to the Australian betting landscape is NEDS. The CEO came across from Ladbrokes, and their distinctive Orange online decor is easy to discern.
BetEasy – Formed from the ashes of the William Hill and Crown Bet agencies comes Bet Easy. This betting agency has everything for the aspiring punter. A good interface, lots of info and live video racing.
Betfair – these guys have been around for a wee while now, but they have a good product, a good user base of punters and they are the only agency in Australia that offers lay betting. Their betting model is slightly different to all the other local betting agencies, but guaranteed you won’t get the boot if you are successful!
Also, refer to Kruzey’s review of all the top betting sites: Best Betting Sites
Return to: Melbourne Cup 2019 Guide
