Melbourne Cup Carnival

The Melbourne Cup Carnival always starts on Victoria Derby day nicknamed ‘Derby day’. Derby day is arguably the best day of racing on the Australia racing calendar with every race on the day being graded a Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3. This is the only race meeting in Victoria each year that can boast that each race is a Group race.

Day 1 of the Melbourne Cup 2026 Carnival starts on Saturday 31 October 2026.

List of the days in the Melbourne Cup Carnival:

Howden Victoria Derby Day

Victoria Derby day is held on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup each year, the day starts the week long Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington racecourse hosted by the VRC (Victorian Racing Club).

The Victoria Derby is a Group 1 race for 3YO Colts and Geldings run over a distance of 2500m for a total prize pool of $1.5 million dollars. Derby day as its often called is not only about the racing for some patrons it is often revered as the major race day for Fashions on the Field for the guys.

The Group 3 Lexus Archer Stakes on Victoria Derby Day is the final 2026 ballot-exempt race for the Melbourne Cup field.

In 2006 Derby day broke the Flemington crowd record when 129,089 people came through the gates. The record before this was held by the 2003 Melbourne Cup in which Makybe Diva won her first Cup.

The raceday flower for Victoria Derby day is the blue cornflower.

Lexus Melbourne Cup Day

Melbourne Cup day is the most anticipated racing event each year, although it can be said the quality of racing on the day may be below par compared to Derby day. But when you have the Melbourne Cup being run you don’t need any other quality races to build the anticipation for the race.

The Cup is a 3200m race under handicap conditions and is classified as a Group 1 race. In recent years more and more internationals have made the trip to Australia to tackle the A$9.09 million race, with a further A$1.11 million in trophies due to the lack of quality stayers Australia is currently producing.

The Melbourne Cup is annually held on the first Tuesday in November with a public holiday observed in metropolitan Melbourne and in some regional Victorian municipalities.

Crown Oaks Day

Oaks day as it is usually called is also nicknamed ladies day. Oaks day is annually held on the Thursday after Melbourne Cup day with the feature race on the day being the Group 1 VRC Oaks over 2500m for 3YO Fillies worth $1 million dollars. The meeting was introduced in 1962 by the Victorian Racing Club to try and introduce more women into racing, it has grown to be the benchmark Fashions on the Field day for many fashionista’s.

TAB Champions Stakes Day

TAB Champions Stakes Day is the final day of the 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival. Its feature program includes the Champions Sprint, Champions Mile and Champions Stakes at Flemington.

The Champions Stakes is one of the feature races on the final day of the Carnival.