Melbourne Cup 2026 Betting Rules: UK Time, Scratchings and Each-Way Terms
The Melbourne Cup is run at Flemington on Tuesday 3 November 2026, which in the UK means the small hours of Tuesday morning. Three things about the race catch out bettors on this side of the world: the field is set on Saturday but scratchings stay open until Monday evening UK time, a scratched horse is never replaced, and the race is a handicap, which changes the default each-way terms. This guide puts the Victoria Racing Club’s timetable next to the rules your bet is settled on. No tips, no prices, no fancies.
The short version
- The race is at about 4am UK time on Tuesday. It has traditionally gone at 3pm in Melbourne, and the time difference is eleven hours this week.
- Scratchings close at 8.30pm UK time on Monday. A bet you strike on Monday evening is still exposed to a horse being withdrawn.
- There are no emergencies. A scratched horse leaves a gap. The field shrinks; nobody is promoted from the reserve list.
- It is a handicap, so the default is four places at a quarter. Operators often advertise more places for the Cup, and displayed terms replace the default.
- This is an Australian race. The British rulebook is the benchmark, but your operator’s rules for overseas racing decide what counts as ante-post and when deductions apply.
The 2026 race in seven facts
Race day, distance, conditions and the card are from the Victoria Racing Club, which runs the Cup. Field rules and deadlines are as published for the 2026 race. Read on 27 October 2026.
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Race day | Tuesday 3 November 2026, Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne. Lexus Melbourne Cup Day, 165th running. |
| Race | Group 1, 3,200 metres. An open handicap; apprentices cannot claim. |
| Card | First race 10.45am, last race 5.15pm local time. Race times for the Cup itself not yet published by the VRC on 27 October. |
| Maximum field | 24 starters. No emergencies: a horse scratched after the field is set is not replaced. |
| Final field | Declared on Saturday 31 October 2026. The barrier draw follows the final field. |
| Getting a run | Winners of ballot-exempt races go in first; remaining places are balloted under the VRC's race conditions. |
| Last scratching time | 7.30am Melbourne time on race day, Tuesday 3 November. |
The two times that matter, in your time zone
Melbourne is on daylight time (UTC+11) from 4 October, and the UK and Ireland went back to GMT on 25 October, so the gap is eleven hours. Canada leaves daylight time on 1 November, two days before the race. The race time below assumes the traditional 3pm local start; the scratching deadline is fixed.
| Where you are | Scratchings close | Race (3pm Melbourne) |
|---|---|---|
| UK and Ireland | Monday 2 November, 20:30 (GMT) | Tuesday 3 November, 04:00 (GMT) |
| Malta | Monday 2 November, 21:30 (CET) | Tuesday 3 November, 05:00 (CET) |
| Canada, Eastern | Monday 2 November, 15:30 (EST) | Monday 2 November, 23:00 (EST) |
| New Zealand | Tuesday 3 November, 09:30 (NZDT) | Tuesday 3 November, 17:00 (NZDT) |
In eastern Canada the race falls late on Monday evening, the day before it is run in Melbourne.
From now to the off: what each stage does to a bet
| When | What it means for your bet |
|---|---|
| Now until Saturday 31 October | Ante-post. The field is not known. A horse that is balloted out, goes elsewhere or is injured is a non-runner, and under the British benchmark that is normally a lost bet unless you have a non-runner no bet concession. |
| Saturday 31 October: final field and barrier draw | The 24 runners are known and their barriers drawn. The draw moves prices, not settlement. Whether a bet struck from here is still treated as ante-post or as an early price on the race is set by your operator's rules for overseas racing. |
| Up to 8.30pm UK time, Monday 2 November | Scratchings are still possible. If a horse goes and you took a price that counts as on the day, the winnings on your horse can be reduced on the Rule 4 scale. Nobody comes in to replace it. |
| After the scratching deadline until the off | The field is effectively settled. A late withdrawal at the barriers is still possible but rare. Starting price bets are not reduced, because the SP is formed without the withdrawn horse. |
Ante-post: the ballot is the risk you are paid for
Every year more horses are aimed at the Cup than can run in it. The VRC fills the 24 places by putting winners of its ballot-exempt races in first and balloting the rest under the race conditions. A horse can also miss out because connections choose another race or because it fails a veterinary check. In each case your ante-post horse becomes a non-runner.
The Tattersalls Committee Rules on Betting, the published benchmark for British racing, void a single ante-post bet only if the race is abandoned or declared void, its conditions or venue change, or the horse is eliminated under the British Horseracing Authority’s procedure. A horse that simply does not run is not on that list. The elimination case is written for British racing, and the Cup is balloted under Australian rules, so whether a balloted-out horse voids your bet or loses it is answered only by your operator’s rules. The same question came up for the Arc de Triomphe in October, and the answer is the same: read the overseas racing section before you bet.
Non-runner no bet, where offered, moves that risk back to the operator, usually at a shorter price. Our guide to outright betting explains how an early price bundles the chance of winning with the chance of taking part, and the odds converter turns either price into the probability you are being offered.
No emergencies: why a scratching shrinks the field
Many big Australian races name emergencies who take the place of a scratched horse. The Melbourne Cup does not. Racing Victoria reviewed the question in 2015 and kept the cap at 24 with no emergencies, because Australian and international pool betting systems cannot take more than 24 runners in a race; it relies on compulsory veterinary inspections before acceptance to cut late withdrawals instead. The rule for 2026 is the same: a horse scratched after the draw is not replaced.
The effect is easy to see in the record. In 2014 two late scratchings left 22 starters, and the horse that had narrowly missed the field stayed out. For a bettor, that means a scratching on Monday is a pure withdrawal: the race loses a runner, the other prices shorten, and nothing comes in to offset it.
Each-way: a handicap, so four places by default
Rule 3 of the Tattersalls rules sets default each-way terms that apply “unless clearly displayed otherwise”, on the actual number of starters. The Cup is an open handicap, so the handicap rows apply. With 24 runners, or even after a couple of scratchings, the default is one quarter of the odds for four places.
| Runners | Default place terms |
|---|---|
| Handicap, 16 or more runners | 1/4 odds, places 1-2-3-4 |
| Handicap, 12 to 15 runners | 1/4 odds, places 1-2-3 |
| 8 to 11 runners | 1/5 odds, places 1-2-3 |
| 5 to 7 runners | 1/4 odds, places 1-2 |
For a race this size many operators advertise extra places, and displayed terms replace the defaults. The same rule leaves ante-post bets out of the actual-starters basis, so check the place terms shown when you strike the bet rather than assuming the race-day terms will apply to it.
A worked example at an illustrative price, not a quote: £5 each-way (£10 in total) at 20/1, one quarter of the odds for four places. If the horse wins, the win half returns £105 and the place half £30, £135 in all. If it finishes second, third or fourth, only the place half pays: £30 back on a £10 outlay. The each-way calculator does this for any price and terms, and our guide on when an each-way bet is worth it shows how to judge whether the place terms are fair for the field.
Monday evening: scratchings and deductions
Rule 4(C) of the Tattersalls rules covers bets placed with a price taken on the day of the race. If a horse is then withdrawn, the winnings on every remaining horse, win and place, are reduced on a scale set by the withdrawn horse’s price at the time: 20p in the pound for a horse at 4/1, 10p for one at 6/1, nothing for one longer than 14/1. Several withdrawals are capped at 90p in total, and the stake is never deducted.
The Cup makes this a Monday-evening question in the UK. Scratchings stay open until 8.30pm UK time on Monday, and race day in Melbourne has already started by then. Whether a price you take on Monday afternoon counts as “on the day”, and so whether it can be reduced, is set by your operator’s rules for overseas racing, so look for the line that says when early prices on overseas races become subject to deductions.
Taking the same £5 each-way at 20/1, if a 6/1 shot is scratched after you bet and a 10p deduction applies, the win profit falls from £100 to £90 and the place profit from £25 to £22.50. A winner then returns £122.50 instead of £135; a placed horse returns £27.50 instead of £30. The Rule 4 calculator applies the full scale, and our guide to Rule 4 deductions covers multiple withdrawals and reformed markets. Starting price bets are not reduced, and if two horses share a placing the dead heat rules split the stake instead.
What this page does not cover
It names no operator, quotes no live price and offers no selection. The final field, the barrier draw and the confirmed race time are not known on the date of publication. Australian tote and pool betting are not covered: this page is about fixed-odds bets placed in the UK, Ireland and similar markets. The Tattersalls rules are quoted as the published benchmark for British racing; the rules that settle your bet are your operator’s, and they are the ones to read. Betting is for over-18s only; if it stops being fun, our responsible gambling page lists free, confidential support.
Frequently asked questions
What time is the Melbourne Cup 2026 in the UK?
The race is on Tuesday 3 November 2026 at Flemington. It has traditionally been run at 3pm Melbourne time, which this year is 4am on Tuesday in the UK and Ireland: Australia moved to daylight time on 4 October and the UK moved back to GMT on 25 October, so the gap is eleven hours. The Victoria Racing Club had not published 2026 race times when we checked on 27 October; the day's card runs from 10.45am to 5.15pm local time, so check the confirmed time on race morning.
If my horse is scratched from the Melbourne Cup, is another horse brought in?
No. The Cup field is capped at 24 and there are no emergencies, so a horse scratched after the final field is declared on Saturday 31 October is not replaced and the race simply has fewer runners. In 2014 two late scratchings left 22 starters, and the horse that had narrowly missed the cut could not take a place. For your bet, a scratched horse is a non-runner: an ante-post bet on it is normally lost, and a price taken on the day can trigger a deduction on the other runners.
Is an ante-post bet void if my horse misses the Melbourne Cup field?
Under the British benchmark, usually not. The Tattersalls Committee Rules on Betting void single ante-post bets only for listed reasons, and the one about horses eliminated from an oversubscribed race refers to the British Horseracing Authority's procedure. The Melbourne Cup is balloted under Australian racing rules, so whether a horse balloted out voids your ante-post bet or loses it is decided by your operator's own rules. Read them before you bet, or bet with a non-runner no bet concession where one is offered.
What are the each-way terms for the Melbourne Cup?
The Cup is a handicap. The Tattersalls default for a handicap with 16 or more runners is one quarter of the odds for the first four places, and for 12 to 15 runners one quarter of the odds for three places. Those defaults apply only unless the operator clearly displays other terms, and for a race this size many operators advertise extra places. The terms on your bet slip are the ones that settle the bet.
When is the last chance for a Melbourne Cup scratching?
Race-day scratchings close at 7.30am Melbourne time on Tuesday 3 November, which is 8.30pm on Monday 2 November in the UK and Ireland. After that, a horse can still be withdrawn at the barriers by the stewards, for example for a veterinary reason, but that is rare. A bet struck in the UK on Monday evening before 8.30pm is therefore still exposed to a scratching.
Sources
Read on 27 October 2026. Race day, edition, distance, conditions and the day’s first and last race are from the Victoria Racing Club’s Cup Day page. The 24-runner cap, the absence of emergencies, the final field date and the race-day scratching deadline are as published in the 2026 field guide below; the 2015 review and the 2014 scratchings are from the report linked. Ante-post, each-way and deduction rules are from the Tattersalls Committee Rules on Betting. Local times were converted with the official time-zone database, and every figure in the worked examples was calculated independently.
- Victoria Racing Club, Lexus Melbourne Cup Day 2026 — vrc.com.au
- Melbourne Cup 2026 barrier draw and field — race.com.au
- No emergencies in the Melbourne Cup — horseracing.com.au
- Tattersalls Committee Rules on Betting — tattersallscommittee.co.uk