Melbourne Cup mug's guide: The 84-year curse English import needs to overcome in famous race

For many casual sports fans around Australia, the first Tuesday in November offers one of the rare times they'll have a flutter.

The Lexus Melbourne Cup is the horse race which attracts the most money from Australian gamblers each year due to the fact it appeals to a broad audience, including people who would not normally tune in to racing.

You can grab a newspaper and spend hours poring over each runner, or study one of Wide World of Sports' form guides (here's Simon O'Donnell's and here's Michelle Payne's) compiled by racing experts to help you decide where to stick your hard-earned.

READ MORE: 'Crucial' reason Payne is tipping $23 Cup upset

READ MORE: Huge 'question mark' lingers over Cup fancy

READ MORE: Why every runner can and can't win this Melbourne Cup

But if you're more superstitious than studious, you might want to check out this mug's guide to the 2025 Melbourne Cup.

THE JOCKEY

Two jockeys in history managed to win the Melbourne Cup four times - Bobbie Lewis (1902, 1915, 1919, 1927) and Harry White (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979).

Of the current crop of riders only Kerrin McEvoy has a chance of drawing level with those two legends.

McEvoy won the Cup in 2000, 2016, and 2018 and he climbs aboard Absurde ($23) for the second year in a row in this race.

In the 2025 edition of the Cup only five riders have tasted victory in the great race previously.

Mark Zahra is a two-time winner having ridden Gold Trip and Without A Fight to victory. He is aboard Al Riffa ($9) on Tuesday.

Jye McNeil (Valiant King) James McDonald (Meydaan), Craig Williams (Buckaroo), Blake Shinn (Vauban) and Robbie Dolan (Royal Supremacy) are the other hoops to have won a Melbourne Cup, meaning 17 jockeys are gunning for their first win on Tuesday.

LIVE UPDATES: Melbourne Cup results as they happen

And if you're keen to back a female jockey in the great race, there are several options.

Jamie Melham will ride Half Yours, Rachel King will saddle up on Arapaho and Celine Gaudray will be the jockey on Torranzino.

Michelle Payne aboard Prince Of Penzance in 2015 remains the only woman to ride a Melbourne Cup winner to date.

THE BARRIER

The barrier draw generally plays a big role in horse races, but with the Melbourne Cup run over 3200m and with Flemington such a wide track it is slightly less of a factor.

That being said, the barrier can play a big part in deciding where to put your money.

Bear in mind barrier draws were introduced to the Cup in 1924, so this data doesn't cover the race's rich history.

Barrier 11 has produced the most winners in Melbourne Cup history with eight victories. Americain in 2010 was the most recent.

This year, one of the rank outsiders Smokin Romans ($81) has drawn that gate.

Barriers five (Chevalier Rose), 14 (River Of Stars) and 19 (Al Riffa) have also been successful. This century, barrier 14 has been most successful with four wins.

Barrier 18 was thought to be cursed, having only produced one winner until Verry Elleegant's emphatic triumph in 2021. Torranzino will jump from that gate this time.

Barriers seven (Furthur) and 15 (Arapaho) have also only ever won the race once.

Watch the 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival live and free on Nine and 9Now.

THE NUMBER

The order of a horse racing field is determined by weights, or handicaps - so the top-weighted runner will be No.1 and the field descends from there.

The more weight a horse carries, theoretically the harder it is to win.

Horse No.4 has been the most successful in Cup history, winning the race 13 times.

But before Verry Elleegant carried the saddle cloth to victory in 2021, No.4 had not won the race since 1986.

This year Vauban ($26) wears the No.4 cloth.

The second most successful number in the Melbourne Cup is No.12, having won the race 11 times.

Smokin Romans ($81) wears the No.12 on Tuesday.

The most successful number since 1980 is No.6, which will be worn by Presage Nocturne ($8.50) this year.

THE NAME

Since 1924 only 11 horses whose name starts with a vowel have won the Melbourne Cup.

Only one winner has ever started with the letter O, while names starting with I, Q, U, X and Y have never won the race.

It means this year Al Riffa, Arapaho, Absurde, Athabascan, and Onesmoothoperator, are up against it.

The most common winners start with a P or an S, which would bring Smokin Romans and Parchment Party into the equation.

THE HORSE'S GENDER AND AGE

Male horses have dominated the Melbourne Cup, winning 91 per cent.

The most successful Cup horses have been entires - a male who has not been castrated. They've collected 72 victories.

Geldings - a male horse who has been castrated - have banked 55 wins.

Of the females, mares have won the Cup 14 times and fillies - younger females - are traditionally not favoured in the gruelling two-mile affair, winning just three times.

There are only three female horses in this year's race - Chevalier Rose, Goodie Two Shoes and River Of Stars.

In terms of age, four and five-year-old runners have found the most success in the Melbourne Cup, winning 46 times each to make up 91 of the 164 to date.

In this year's race that means Al Riffa, Presage Nocturne, Middle Earth, Meydaan, Land Legend, Half Yours, Parchment Party, Royal Supremacy and Valiant King should be favoured when taking age into account.

Six-year-old horses also have a decent record in the Cup, while three-year-olds used to enjoy success but have not claimed the race since 1941.

There is just one three-year-old horse in the 2025 field in overseas runner Furthur, which will need to overcome an 84-year drought for horses his age.

THE COLOUR

One of the most popular methods for "mug" punters to pick a runner in the Melbourne Cup is the colour of the jockey silks.

Unfortunately, we don't have stats on which are the most successful colours.

If pink is your thing, Absurde is your best bet.

Torranzino (green with red sleeves and yellow V) and Meydaan (bright yellow) arguably have the most eye-catching silks this year.

A handful of runners will be in matching silks, with both Valiant King and Buckaroo in the dark blue with yellow sleeves and white spots, while Royal Supremacy, Al Riffa and Vauban all wear mid-blue with black and white chequered sleeves.

In terms of the actual colour of the horse, bay is the winningest - but the stats are skewed given the large percentage of racehorses that are of bay colour.

If you want to punt on a grey - which is rare in horse racing and even more so in the Melbourne Cup - Presage Nocturne and Valiant King are your options this year.