Melbourne Cup 2026 start time: When does the race begin?

The 2026 Lexus Melbourne Cup is scheduled to run at 3pm on Tuesday, November 3 in Australia’s eastern states with daylight savings (AEDT).

This includes Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT and Tasmania.

In Western Australia, the main race will jump at midday, 1:30pm for the Northern Territory, 2pm for Queensland and 2:30pm for South Australia.

The Melbourne Cup typically runs for around three and a half minutes from beginning to end.

On Melbourne Cup day, Nine will begin broadcasting live from Flemington from 10am until 5.30pm.

The broadcast will include all the pre- and post-race excitement from the racecourse, as well as the race at 3pm AEDT.

Full Flemington race card

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There is a break of 40 minutes between each race, with a longer break held before the Melbourne Cup.

This year’s race card is as follows:

Race 1. 10:45am - Darley Maribyrnong Plate (1000 metres)

Race 2. 11:20am - Pin & Win Community Handicap (2000 metres)

Race 3. 12:00pm - TAB One Pool Trophy (1800 metres)

Race 4. 12:40pm - The Schweppervescence Plate (1000 metres)

Race 5. 1:20pm - Australian Heritage Cup (2800 metres)

Race 6. 1:55pm - Asahi Super Dry Plate (1800 metres)

Race 7. 3:00pm - Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200 metres)

Race 8. 3:50pm - Crown Amanda Elliott (1400 metres)

Race 9. 4:35pm - The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400 metres)

Race 10. 5:15pm - Channel 9 Trophy (1400 metres)