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Statistics for Various Melbourne Cup Winners
Leading Melbourne Cup Trainers
| Trainer | # Winners | Winners |
| Bart Cummings | 12 winners | Light Fingers (1965), Galilee (1966), Red Handed (1967), Think Big (1974), Think Big (1975), Gold And Black (1977), Hyperno (1979), Kingston Rule (1990), Let's Elope (1991), Saintly (1996), Rogan Josh (1999) & Viewed (2008) |
| Etienne de Mestre | 5 winners | Archer (1861), Archer (1862), Tim Whiffler (1867), Chester (1877) and Calamia (1878) |
| Lee Freedman | 5 winners | Tawriffic (1989), Subzero (1992), Doriemus (1995), Makybe Diva (2004), Makybe Diva (2005) |
| John Tait | 4 winners | The Barb (1866), Glencoe (1868), The Pearl (1871), The Quack (1872) |
| Walter Hickenbotham | 4 winners | Mentor (1888), Carbine (1890), Newhaven (1896), Blue Spec (1905) |
| Richard Bradfield | 4 winners | Patron (1894), The Victory (1902), Night Watch (1918), Backwood (1924) |
| Jim Scobie | 4 winners | Clean Sweep (1900), King Ingoda (1922), Bitalli (1923), Trivalve (1927) |
| George Hanlon | 3 winners | Piping Lane (1972), Arwon (1978), Black Knight (1984) |
| Frank McGrath | 3 winners | Prince Foote (1909), Peter Pan (1934), Peter Pan (1932) |
Note: The most successful overseas trainers have been Irishman. Dermot Weld had 2 winners with Vintage Crop (1993) and Media Puzzle (2002) and two placings Vintage Crop (1995) and Vinnie Roe (2004). Joseph O'Brien has had 2 winners as well – Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020).
Leading Melbourne Cup Riders
| Rider | # Winners | Winners |
| Bobbie Lewis | 4 winners | The Victory (1902), Patrobas (1915), Artilleryman (1919), Trivalve (1927) |
| Harry White | 4 winners | Think Big (1974), Think Big (1975), Arwon (1978), Hyperno (1979) |
| William McLachlan | 3 winners | Prince Foote (1909), Comedy King (1910), Westcourt (1917) |
| Darby Munro | 3 winners | Peter Pan (1934), Sirius (1944), Russia (1946) |
| Jack Purtell | 3 winners | Hiraji (1947), Wodalla (1953), Rising Fast (1954) |
| Jimmy Johnson | 3 winners | Gatum Gatum (1963), Rain Lover (1968), Rain Lover (1969) |
| Glen Boss | 3 winners | Makybe Diva (2003, 2004, 2005) |
| Damien Oliver | 3 winners | Doriemus (1995), Media Puzzle (2002), Fiorente (2013) |
| Kerrin McEvoy | 3 winners | Brew (2000), Almandin (2016), Cross Counter (2018) |
Female Melbourne Cup Winners
| Year | Horse (Jockey/Trainer) | Age&Sex | Wgt |
| 1876 | Briseis (P St Albans/James Wilson) | 3YOF | 40.0kgs |
| 1895 | Auraria (J Stevenson/J.H.Hill) | 3YOF | 46.5kgs |
| 1904 | Acrasia (T.Clayton/A.E.Wills) | 7YOM | 47.0kgs |
| 1921 | Sister Olive (E.O'Sullivan/J.Williams) | 3YOF | 44.0kgs |
| 1939 | Rivette (E.Preston/H.Bamber) | 6YOM | 48.5kgs |
| 1945 | Rainbird (W.Cook/S.Evans) | 4YOM | 47.5kgs |
| 1956 | Evening Peal (G.Podmore/E.D.Lawson) | 4YOM | 51.0kgs |
| 1960 | Hi Jinx (W.A.Smith/T.H.Knowles) | 5YOM | 49.0kgs |
| 1965 | Light Fingers (R.Higgins/J.B.Cummings) | 4YOM | 52.5kgs |
| 1988 | Empire Rose (T.K.Allan/L.K.Laxon) | 6YOM | 53.5kgs |
| 1991 | Let's Elope (S.R.King/J.B.Cummings) | 4YOM | 51.0kgs |
| 1998 | Jezabeel (C.Munce/B.Jenkins) | 6YOM | 51.0kgs |
| 2001 | Ethereal (S.Seamer/S.Laxon) | 4YOM | 52.0kgs |
| 2003 | Makybe Diva (G.Boss/D.Hall) | 5YOM | 51.0kgs |
| 2004 | Makybe Diva (G.Boss/D.L.Freedman) | 6YOM | 55.5kgs |
| 2005 | Makybe Diva (G.Boss/D.L.Freedman) | 7YOM | 58.0kgs |
| 2021 | Verry Elleegant (J.McDonald/C.J.Waller) | 6YOM | 57.0kgs |
Record - 17 female wins in 163 Melbourne Cup runnings.
Ten Shortest-Priced Melbourne Cup Favourites
| Year | Horse | Odds/Div | FP |
| 1930 | Phar Lap | 8/11 ($1.70) | Won |
| 1929 | Phar Lap | 1/1 ($2.00) | 3rd |
| 1912 | Duke Foote | 6/4 ($2.50) | 14th |
| 1901 | Revenue | 7/4 ($2.80) | Won |
| 1917 | Lanius | 7/4 ($2.80) | 6th |
| 1925 | Manfred | 7/4 ($2.80) | 2nd |
| 1940 | Beau Vite | 7/4 ($2.80) | 4th |
| 1948 | Howe | 7/4 ($2.80) | 4th |
| 1956 | Redcraze | 7/4 ($2.80) | 2nd |
| 1971 | Gay Icarus | 7/4 ($2.80) | 9th |
Five Longest-Priced Melbourne Cup Winners
| Year | Horse | Odds/Div |
| 1871 | The Pearl | 100/1 ($101.00) |
| 1936 | Wotan | 100/1 ($101.00) |
| 1940 | Old Rowley | 100/1 ($101.00) |
| 2015 | Prince Of Penzance | 100/1 ($101.00) |
| 1948 | Rimfire | 80/1 ($81.00) |
| 1892 | Glenloth | 50/1 ($51.00) |
Biggest Winning Margins in Melbourne Cup
| Year | Horse | Margin |
| 1862 | Archer | 8 lengths |
| 1968 | Rain Lover | 8 lengths |
| 1942 | Colonus | 7 lengths |
| 1861 | Archer | 6 lengths |
| 1896 | Newhaven | 6 lengths |
| 1919 | Artilleryman | 6 lengths |
| 1946 | Russia | 6 lengths |
Heaviest Winning Weights in Melbourne Cup
| Year | Horse | Weight |
| 1890 | Carbine | 65.5kgs (10 stone 5 pounds) |
| 1862 | Archer | 64.5kgs (10 stone 2 pounds) |
| 1920 | Poitrel | 63.5kgs (10 stone) |
Note: Heaviest weight ever carried in a Melbourne Cup was by Phar Lap in 1931. He lumped 68kgs (10 stone 10 pounds) into eighth place.
Mares to Carry Top weight in a Melbourne Cup
| Year | Horse | Weight |
| 1903 | Wakeful | 63.5kgs (10 stone) |
| 1918 | Desert Gold | 60.0kgs (9 stone 6 pounds) |
| 1916 | Carlita | 59.5kgs (9 stone 5 pounds) |
| 1917 | Thana | 59.0kgs (9 stone 4 pounds) |
| 1942 | Tranquil Star | 58.5kgs (9 stone 3 pounds) |
| 2005 | Makybe Diva | 58.0kgs (9 stone 2 pounds) |
| 1924 | Wynette | 56.0kgs (8 stone 11 pounds) |
| 1872 | Barbelle | 54.0kgs (8 stone 7 pounds) |
| 1885 | Blink Bonny | 53.0kgs (8 stone 5 pounds) |
Most Runs in a Melbourne Cup
| Horse | Runs | Dates - FP |
| Shadow King | 6 Runs | (1929 - 6th, 1930 - 3rd, 1931 - 2nd, 1932 - 3rd, 1933 - 2nd, 1935 - 4th) |
| Toryboy | 5 Runs | (1861 - 5th, 1862 - 6th, 1865 - Won, 1866 - 4th, 1867 - unp) |
| Barwon | 5 runs | (1864 - unp, 1865 - 4th, 1866 - unp, 1867 - unp, 1868 - unp) |
| Musidora | 5 runs | (1862- unp, 1863 - 2nd, 1864 - unp, 1865 - unp, 1866 - unp) |
| Skybeau | 5 runs | (1996 - 3rd, 1997 - 7th, 1998 - 8th, 1999 - 16th, 2000 - 9th) |
| Red Cadeaux | 5 runs | (2011 - 2nd, 2012 - 8th, 2013 - 2nd, 2014 – 2nd, 2015 – FTF) |
| Doriemus | 4 runs | (1995 - Won, 1996 - 6th, 1997 - 2nd, 1998 - 19th) |
| Strop | 4 Runs | (1867 - unp, 1868 - 2nd, 1869 - unp, 1870 - unp) |
| Who Shot Thebarman | 4 Runs | (2014 - 3rd, 2015 - 11th, 2016 - 5th, 2018 - 17th) (was scratched in 2017) |
Female Milestones for Melbourne Cup
First female to own a Melbourne Cup winner was Mrs E A Widdis successful with Patrobas (1915)
First Female jockey to ride in a Melbourne Cup was Maree Lyndon (Argonaut Style - 20th in 1987)
First Female jockey to win a Melbourne Cup was Michelle Payne (Prince Of Penzance 2015)
First Female to train a Melbourne Cup winner (officially) was Sheila Laxon (Ethereal - 2001) before Gai Waterhouse did it in 2013 with Fiorente.
Melbourne Cup Field Size
Largest Melbourne Cup field was 39 runners in 1890 - Winner Carbine
Smallest Melbourne Cup field was 7 runners in 1863 - Winner Banker
Melbourne Cup - Fastest Race Time
The distance of the Melbourne Cup was two miles until the introduction of metrics in 1972 when the Cup was run over 3200m for the first time. The 3200m distance was 18.7m shorter in distance than two miles.
Rain Lover (1968) held the race record of 3 minutes 19.1 seconds for the two miles but a pacesetter record was established converting Rain Lover's imperial time to a metric equivalent of 3:17.9.
Since 1972 three horses have clocked faster times than the Rain Lover metric converted time.
Tawrrific ran 3:17.1 in 1989. Current race record-holder Kingston Rule posted 3:16.3 winning in 1990 and the Irish horse Media Puzzle ran 3:16.9 in 2002.
