Melbourne Cup Weights
Being a handicap race, weights are extremely important in the Melbourne Cup, as it is the highest weighted horses that make the final field unless they have won a Melbourne Cup ballot exempt race.
Also, an unrealistic high weight that has been assigned by the handicapper may deter owners and trainers from entering their horse in the Melbourne Cup, while a low weight can be an advantage for those that make the final field.
Ultimately, weight decides the Melbourne Cup Order of Entry for which horses will take their place in the final field of 24 runners.
2025 Melbourne Cup Weights
Weights for the 2025 Melbourne Cup will be released on Tuesday, September 16, and this page will be updated with the relevant information when it comes to hand.
2024 Melbourne Cup Weights
See how each horse fared with the weight they carried in the 2024 Melbourne Cup.
| Finish | Horse | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knight's Choice | 51.5kg |
| 2 | Warp Speed | 54.5kg |
| 3 | Okita Soushi | 51kg |
| 4 | Zardozi | 51kg |
| 5 | Absurde | 52.5kg |
| 6 | Circle Of Fire | 54.5kg |
| 7 | Fancy Man | 50kg |
| 8 | Land Legend | 53kg |
| 9 | Buckaroo | 54.5kg |
| 10 | Kovalica | 53.5kg |
| 11 | Vauban | 55.5kg |
| 12 | Onesmoothoperator | 51kg |
| 13 | Valiant King | 50.5kg (cd 51kg) |
| 14 | Sea King | 50.5kg |
| 15 | Interpretation | 50kg |
| 16 | Sharp 'N' Smart | 53.5kg |
| 17 | Trust In You | 50kg |
| 18 | Mostly Cloudy | 50kg |
| 19 | Manzoice | 50kg (cd 51kg) |
| 20 | Positivity | 50kg |
| 21 | The Map | 50kg |
| 22 | Saint George | 50kg |
| 23 | Just Fine | 53kg |
Melbourne Cup Winner’s Weight - Last 20 Years
Below are the weights carried by each Melbourne Cup winning horse in the past 20 years.
| Year | Horse | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Knight's Choice | 51kg |
| 2023 | Without A Fight | 56.5kg |
| 2022 | Gold Trip | 57.5kg |
| 2021 | Verry Elleegant | 57kg |
| 2020 | Twilight Payment | 55.5kg |
| 2019 | Vow And Declare | 52kg |
| 2018 | Cross Counter | 51kg |
| 2017 | Rekindling | 51.5kg |
| 2016 | Almandin | 52kg |
| 2015 | Prince of Penzance | 53kg |
| 2014 | Protectionist | 56.5kg |
| 2013 | Fiorente | 55kg |
| 2012 | Green Moon | 53.5kg |
| 2011 | Dunaden | 54.5kg |
| 2010 | Americain | 54.5kg |
| 2009 | Shocking | 51kg |
| 2008 | Viewed | 53kg |
| 2007 | Efficient | 54.5kg |
| 2006 | Delta Blues | 56kg |
| 2005 | Makybe Diva | 58kg |
Most Successful Weights in the Melbourne Cup
53kg is the most common weight carried by a Melbourne Cup winner, with a horse carrying that weight winning nine times. The next best are 51kg, 54.5kg and 52.5kg with 25 wins between them. It takes an exceptional horse to win the Melbourne Cup while carrying a weight higher than this. Makybe Diva carried 58kg to victory in 2005, and she is the greatest Melbourne Cup winner ever with three consecutive Cups to her name. Before that, you have to go back to dual Melbourne Cup winner Think Big who carried 58.5kg to victory in 1975 after carrying 53kg to victory in the previous year.
| Weight | Wins |
|---|---|
| 53kg | 9 |
| 51kg | 9 |
| 54.5kg | 8 |
| 52.5kg | 8 |
| 56kg | 7 |
Melbourne Cup Weight Statistics
| Stat | Weight | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Most weight carried by winner | 66kg | Carbine (1890) |
| Most weight carried by winning mare | 58kg | Makybe Diva (2005) |
| Least weight carried by winner | 33.5kg | Banker (1863) |
| Highest weight ever carried | 68kg | Phar Lap (1931) |
| Most common winning weight | 53kg | 9 wins |
| Weight Carried by fist winner | 60.5kg | Archer (1861) |
| Weight Carried by most recent winner | 51kg | Knight’s Choice (2024) |
| Most weight carried by a Bart Cummings winner | 58.5kg | Think Big (1975) |
How Much Does Weight Affect Melbourne Cup Horses?
Being a handicap race, each Melbourne Cup entrant is assigned a weight by the handicapper - this is based on their previous form. Horses that have performed the best in high class races will be assigned higher weights, while lower weights will be determined by performances that rate lower. A horse's age also comes into calculation when being assigned a weight with the minimum weight in the Melbourne Cup being 49kg for a three-year-old, and the minimum for four-year-olds and over being 50kg.
As a general rule of thumb, each half kilo a horse has to carry over 3200m will slow it down by 1 length. So, to make it a fair race, if a horse is deemed to be seven lengths better than another horse, it should carry 3.5kg more. This is the basics of being a handicap race.
At Blackbook.com.au, our racing experts consider weight and other variables when selecting their Melbourne Cup tips.
