["LIVE-STREAM"] Melbourne Cup 2023 Live Free Channel
How to watch the 2023 Melbourne Cup on TV, streaming or around Melbourne
Melbourne Cup live stream 2023: How to watch Australia's premier horse race
We're getting close to the first Tuesday in November, and that means it's almost time for the most famous horse race on the Australian sporting calendar.
Melbourne Cup 2023: What time does the race start? How to watch, the favourites, weather forecast, and prize money
This year's Melbourne Cup promises to be another massive event for racing fans, with the $8 million feature at Flemington set to be run on Tuesday, November 7th.
Gold Trip will be back to defend its crown after an impressive victory in 2022, but will be facing tough competition from both Australian and overseas gallopers for the 3200m journey.
What time does the Melbourne Cup start?
The Melbourne Cup is race seven on the program, scheduled for 3pm AEDT — that's Melbourne time, and also for those in New South Wales, ACT and Tasmania.
If you're in Queensland, the race will start at 2pm AEST, or in South Australia, at 2:30pm ACDT. In the Northern Territory, it will be 1:30pm ACST, and in Western Australia it will be 12pm AWST.
You can follow all the action throughout the day on our live blog.
How can I watch it?
The race will be broadcast on Channel Ten, which has the rights to this year's Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Their live broadcast will start at 10am AEDT and run until 5:30pm AEDT after the last race of the day.
Racing.com (digital Channel 78) also is able to broadcast the Cup live. Foxtel's Sky Racing is unable to carry the race live but will have it on delay, a few minutes after the event.
The race will also be streamed on 10Play. Kayo Sports will also carry the Racing.com coverage.
Where can I listen to the Cup?
The big race will be carried live on a number of radio networks — ABC local radio, the Racing and Sports Network, SEN Radio, Nine Radio, plus Triple M in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Who are the favourites?
A jockey rises a racehorse to victory, with the rest of the field in the distance well behind him.
Form watchers took notice when Vauban smashed the field at Royal Ascot in June — now the Willie Mullins-trained galloper is the Melbourne Cup favourite.(Getty Images: Alex Pantling)
As often happens in recent times, the hot favourite for this year's Melbourne Cup is one of the internationals — Vauban, trained in Ireland by Willie Mullins.
A top horse racing over hurdles, Vauban made headlines on the flat in June when he blitzed a field at Royal Ascot (over 2,816m) by seven and a half lengths, before qualifying for the Cup field with a win in the Ballyroan Stakes at Naas in Ireland.
Last year's winner, Gold Trip — one of five runners for the training partnership of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace — is back and in fine form, coming off a third in the Caulfield Cup and a fifth place in the Cox Plate. However, he will have to carry a weight of 58.5kg — the last horse to win at that weight or higher was Think Big back in 1975.
The prize pool for the Melbourne Cup is $8 million.
The first 12 horses across the line will earn prize money.
The breakdown: 1st: $4.4 million; 2nd: $1.1 million; 3rd: $550,000; 4th: $350,000; 5th: $230,000; 6th to 12th: $160,000.
The Melbourne Cup trophy, which contains 1.65kg of 18-carat gold, is worth $250,000 on its own.