Figures confirm Spring Racing Carnival engagement growth

Increases across several key metrics have confirmed that a growing number of people engaged with the 2025 Spring Racing Carnival (SRC) across three months of enthralling results that captured the public’s attention.

Victoria again played host to the most watched, wagered and attended race meetings in Australia as Carnival crowds increased from 2024 to over 600,000 with a three-year growth of 7.8% confirming that the public have embraced returning to the racetrack in the post-Covid era.

Sold-out Sportsbet Caulfield Cup and Ladbrokes Cox Plate meetings in 2025 preceded the highest attended Melbourne Cup Carnival since 2018 while attendances increased by 10% or more at 10 Country Cup meetings.

Positive wagering activity prevailed across the SRC with total domestic turnover of $2.84 billion representing a 3.2% year-on-year increase.

These results were underpinned by a successful Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington where turnover grew by 8.9%, with the Lexus Melbourne Cup generating a record $247m, a figure more than four times higher than any other race in the nation.

Running from 30 August to 30 November and taking in 21 Group 1 races and 26 Country Cups, returns to participants also increased this SRC, with a total of $119.5m in prizemoney and bonuses paid out to owners, trainers and jockeys– up from $114.1m in 2024.

The Lexus Melbourne Cup provided the story of the Carnival with Jamie Melham the first female jockey in history to complete the Sportsbet Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double as Half Yours became the 13th horse to achieve the same feat.

Fairytale outcomes included Strictly Business’ ascent from maiden to Crown Oaks winner in the space of 14 days, delivering a first career Group 1 victory for Ballarat trainer Thomas Carberry.

Far from unexpected but no less compelling, Via Sistina’s place among the all-time greats was confirmed following victories in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate and TAB Champions Stakes for the second consecutive year.

Racing Victoria (RV) Chief Executive, Aaron Morrison, said: “It’s great to see the positivity surrounding this year’s Spring Racing Carnival confirmed by an increasing number of people choosing to attend, watch and wager on our sport.

“Our Carnival has delivered again with incredible results on the track supported by some amazing events and it’s no coincidence to see engagement rising because of the hard work of many.

“The Victorian Government’s support of our major events remains vital, and we thank them for that with our Carnival generating $785 million in economic benefit for Victoria each year right across the state.

“The collective work that goes into the Spring Racing Carnival cannot be understated and it would be remiss of me not to also thank our participants, clubs, media and wagering partners, staff and volunteers for their efforts over the last three months.

“The story of Jamie Melham, Tony & Calvin McEvoy and Half Yours will go down in history as the headline act of a famous spring which included the feats of champion mare Via Sistina and a surprise rising star in Strictly Business.

“The roar of the crowds on course was on another level this Carnival, through both sunshine and rain, and I can’t thank racing fans enough for their unwavering passion and commitment.

“There’s plenty more to come before the end of the year, from Saturday’s Pakenham Cup to a revitalised New Year’s Eve meeting at Flemington, while the 2026 Festival of Racing will be upon us before we know it.”

Following is an overview of other key data points and highlights from the 2025 Spring Racing Carnival:

Attendances

• A total of 600,827 people attended the Spring Racing Carnival – up from 596,955 in 2024 and 7.8% above 2023;
• The Melbourne Cup Carnival again boasted the four highest attended race meetings nationally, collectively welcoming 286,746 patrons – the highest total since 2018;
• 53% of all general admission tickets for the Melbourne Cup Carnival were purchased by people under the age of 35, up 17% year-on-year;
• Caulfield Cup Carnival attendances grew 4.9% to 52,070 highlighted by a 10% increase on Caulfield Cup Day - the meeting’s largest crowd since 2018;
• An increase of 49% in female attendances across the Caulfield Cup Carnival;
• Bumper attendances for the final Cox Plate Carnival at the current The Valley layout – Gold Cup Night up 30% and Cox Plate Day up 9.5% with 22,147 in attendance to watch the final race under The Valley’s current footprint;
• The revamped C.F. Orr Stakes meeting at Caulfield on 15 November proved a hit, with attendances increasing by 31%; and
• Substantial attendance increases at a number of Country Cup meetings including Benalla (23%), Kilmore (22%), Murtoa (20%), Gunbower (17%) and Dunkeld (17%) despite wet weather impacting several others.

Wagering

• Melbourne Cup Carnival turnover rose to $727.4m, the highest total since wagering’s Covid-influenced peak in 2022;
• Very favourable customer results on Derby Day provided a boost to punters, allowing high levels of reinvestment across the remainder of Melbourne Cup Week;
• Caulfield Cup Carnival wagering improved 3.9% year-on-year, highlighted by a 7.7% increase on Caulfield Cup Day, which benefitted from the addition of the Thousand Guineas to the program;
• Cox Plate Carnival turnover was just below 2024, impacted by softer field sizes for the Cox Plate meeting, particularly across the quaddie legs;
• Turnover for the revamped C.F. Orr Stakes meeting at Caulfield was comparable to 2024 when the program featured two Group 1 races, while turnover for the Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes itself surpassed the race’s average over the previous five editions when held in February; and
• Impressive turnover growth was also recorded at key country meetings conducted throughout the Carnival including the Murtoa Cup (up 42%), Tatura Cup (up 26%), Kilmore Cup (up 23%) and Ararat Cup (up 17%).

Media

• A total of 5.5 million Australians tuned in to the 9Network across the Melbourne Cup Carnival;
• The Melbourne Cup’s National Total TV reach was up 9% year-on-year with a total audience above 2 million for the first time since 2018;
• Fans tuned in to watch the final Cox Plate prior to The Valley’s redevelopment in number with over 1.2 million viewers across the Seven and 7plus coverage, a 23% uplift on 2024;
• Seven’s broadcast of Victorian racing throughout the Spring Racing Carnival collectively reached over 8.8 million viewers nationally;
• The Racing.com digital platforms reported more than 2.5m live views, a 20% increase, while taking in more than 18 million minutes of live action; and

• Social media activity across the SRC (30 August – 30 November) grew significantly on 2024 with the RV and Racing.com accounts reporting combined figures across Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok of:

  Engagements: 7.4m (up 42.3%)
  Impressions: 170.8m (up 30%)
  New followers: 86,400 (up 159.4%)

Racing

• Four SRC races – the Cox Plate (won by Via Sistina), Memsie Stakes (Treasurethe Moment) Makybe Diva Stakes (Mr Brightside) and Turnbull Stakes (Sir Delius)- are likely to figure inside the top 50 of The Longines World’s Top 100 Races;
• The Melbourne Cup, won by Half Yours, boasted its highest race rating since 2021;
• The repositioned Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes both experienced uplifts in their race ratings; and
• Total starter numbers increased across the SRC’s Group 1 meetings year-on-year.

Racetrack Highlights

• Star jockey Jamie Melham re-wrote the history books once again, becoming the first female rider to secure the coveted Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double aboard Half Yours while providing trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy their first win in Australia’s most famous race;
• In the last ever Cox Plate at The Valley as we know it, Via Sistina defended her crown in a manner befitting of the occasion, delivering James McDonald his fourth consecutive Cox Plate;
• It was the stuff of fairytales on Caulfield Guineas Day when Oh Too Good, the only horse Kevin Daffy has in training, lived up to her name and became a Stakes winner in the Group 3 Catanach’s Jewellers Vase;
• Victorian breeders enjoyed a red-letter Melbourne Cup Carnival, with Half Yours, Strictly Business, Tentyris, Observer and Giga Kick taking out five of the eight Group 1s on offer throughout the week;
• The stars on the Country Cups circuit were trainer Paul Preusker and jockey Linda Meech who won three apiece, combining for victory in the Penshurst Cup with Chairman. Preusker also won the Coleraine and Geelong Cups, while Meech was successful in the Murtoa and Kyneton Cups; and
• Evergreen galloper Station One claimed the eighth Country Cup of his stellar career when winning his second Traralgon Cup on the final day of the Spring Racing Carnival. The Liam Howley-trained frontrunner also won the Gunbower Cup in early October.

ENDS