Melbourne Cup Greyhound Betting – The #1 Review

For the most complete bettor’s appraisal of the best Melbourne Cup greyhound betting sites to date, look no further than our review page. By reviewing all the odds levels, the bonus opportunities and everything else in between, we’ll be guiding you through all the most important details of the world-famous event.

Melbourne Cup Greyhound Betting Offers

Given the widespread popularity of the event in Australia, it almost goes without saying that bookmakers go out of their way to offer punters from down under a wide range of special promotions when the TAB Melbourne Cup comes around. For UK punters, however, there aren’t too many deals up for grabs. Operators such as William Hill and Ladbrokes surely offer a whole host of money-back promotions, enhanced price offers and even the occasional free bet deal on their Australian platforms. But unfortunately for English punters, there really aren’t too many deals up for grabs.

Melbourne Cup Greyhound Odds Prices

Although most UK betting sites don’t go out of their way to provide bonuses and promotions for the premier Australian race, they do offer a whole host of ante post bets for both the final and the preliminary qualification rounds. Odds prices of course vary from bookmaker to bookmaker but on average they tend to sit around the 80% mark.

For all the punters out there that like to play the odds game, we recommend using the Betfair exchange. If you have experience using exchanges and you know your greyhounds, there are plenty of opportunities to be had here, especially during the later stages when there tends to be some great value odds prices up for grabs.

Facts

The Melbourne Cup is the final showpiece in a series of qualifying heat races. These heat races are held the week before the big main event and are comprised of dogs that have won either a Victorian Country Cup, a Group 1 sprint race, or a group race at the famous Sandown Park stadium in the 12 months before the heats commence. The winner of the previous race automatically qualifies for the heats, along with the winner of the Shootout, a four-dog qualification race, as do the winners of the Melbourne Cup Preludes, a series of races conducted every two weeks to try and uncover the fastest greyhounds in the country.

Race Information:
First held:	1956	Sandown Park: race location El Grand Senor, Melbourne Cup winner 2010
Distance:	515m
Number of rounds:	8
Grades:	Group 1
Date held:	November
Prize money:	AU$600,000

The Melbourne Cup final itself is run over a distance of 515 metres and is held every year at the Sandown Park greyhound racing stadium in Springvale Victoria, Melbourne, in the month of November. It is a Group 1 race and is widely-regarded by many to be the most prestigious greyhound race in the world.

Historical Info

The Melbourne Cup hasn’t always carried the same kind of prestige that it boasts today. In its first year, it was run on a grass track over a slightly longer distance of 565 yards and only $500 dollars was awarded to the winner. Now, in its 71st year, it has grown to become the world’s premier greyhound race, with the winner of the final taking a home well over $350,000.

It was not until 1964 that the race was moved from a grass track to a sand track, which resulted in the distance being reduced to a slightly shorter 555 yards. The 2016 Melbourne Cup saw a greyhound trained in New South Wales – Andos Mac, a male owned by Luke & Michelle Anderson – win the competition for the first time since 2010. The last dog trained in New South Wales to achieve this was El Grand Senor, a male owned and bred by Mrs Carolyne M. Jones.