The Whips were cracking and people flocked to the Aussie Spring Carnivals to watch.

[Chief Stipe]

The 2024 Melbourne Cup 

Wagering was down as expected with racegoers instead voting with their feet as Victorian racing experienced a welcomed increase in attendances across the 2024 spring carnival.

Racing Victoria on Tuesday released the key results coming out of the spring carnival and it was the crowds – boosted by bumper a four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival – that stood out with nearly 600,000 spectators flocking to Victorian racetracks in the three months to the start of December.

Carnival crowds were up four per cent on 2023 and 17 per cent on the year prior with the four days at Flemington growing sharply by nine per cent.

Away from the city, the racing was also popular with six country cup meetings recording attendance growth of 20 per cent or more.

Returns to participants also increased, with a total of $114.1 million in prizemoney and bonuses paid out to owners, trainers and jockeys across the Spring Racing Carnival – up from $112.5 million in 2023. 

While the predicted downturn in wagering continued, with the total domestic turnover of $2.73 billion representing a seven per cent decrease year-on-year, the last four Saturdays in November all grew year-on-year after Melbourne Cup Day bucked the trend to remain on par with 2023.

RV chief executive Aaron Morrison, said while overall attendances were most pleasing there was one aspect of the figures that stood out.

“We were especially pleased to see so many young faces engaging with racing and enjoying a fun day out, with our clubs doing a fantastic job in delivering compelling raceday experiences and events," he said.

“It wouldn’t be possible without the Victorian Government’s support of our major events which again delivered economic and social benefits right across the state and we thank them for that.

“The atmosphere at our marquee meetings was as vibrant as it’s been for some time, and it was terrific to see communities come together to celebrate spring racing throughout country Victoria.

“The Carnival really built momentum through the three months thanks to our great racing and events, supported by our successful media and marketing campaigns and partnerships. It has certainly helped racing to grow its reach and popularity with a broader mainstream national audience.’’

Following is an overview of other key data points and highlights from the 2024 Spring Racing Carnival:

Attendance

• A total of 589,272 people attended the Spring Racing Carnival – up from 566,402 in 2023; 
• The four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington were the highest attended race meetings nationally in 2024 with more than 285,000 spectators through the gates;
• The Caulfield Cup Carnival also experienced growth with just shy of 50,000 racegoers in attendance across the three days, representing a 2.7% increase on last year’s crowds; 
• With capacity restricted at The Valley as the venue undergoes redevelopment, general admission tickets to Cox Plate Day again sold out with more than 20,000 people trackside; 
• Country Cup meetings were popular with the Horsham Cup (37.4% increase), Coleraine Cup (31.3%), Benalla Cup (30.2%), Wodonga Cup (29.8%), Kyneton Cup (23.6%) and Hamilton Cup (20%) leading the way.

Wagering

• Turnover on the Melbourne Cup was five times higher than any other race in the nation attracting $214 million domestically – the fifth consecutive year it has surpassed $200 million;
• An 11% decline in free bet turnover, coupled with macroeconomic pressures and favourable results for bookmakers were the key factors in an overall decline across the three months;
• Champions Day (Flemington), Caulfield Thousand, Cranbourne Cup Day and Caulfield Spring Finale (Zipping Classic) meetings all delivered increased turnover on Saturdays in November;
• Races to enjoy strong year-on-year growth included the relocated Moir Stakes (up 44.9%), VRC Champions Mile (23.5%) and November’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (20.8%), while the Seymour and Kyneton Cups both delivered record turnover
• The AFL Grand Final public holiday weekend proved popular with racing punters, with the Benalla Cup meeting on Friday afternoon up 4.7%, the revamped Friday night fixture at The Valley up 17.3% and Saturday’s Sandown Stakes meeting up a huge 47.6%.

Media

• The Melbourne Cup was watched by 1.9 million viewers on Nine’s free-to-air coverage, representing a 12% uplift on 2023;
• With the addition of a live broadcast on Racing.com, plus 9Now and other streaming platforms, more than 2.5 million Australians tuned in to watch the iconic race;
• Caulfield Cup Day and Cox Plate Day were also warmly embraced by fans off track with 1.39 million and 1.04 million viewers respectively tuning into Seven and 7plus on those days;
• Seven’s broadcast of Victorian feature racing throughout the Spring Racing Carnival collectively reached 4.6 million viewers nationally;
• Live racing was viewed more than two million times on Racing.com digital platforms across the Carnival with visitors taking in over 15 million minutes of live action; and
• The Racing.com Website and App also hosted more than 10 million digital sessions throughout spring, serving for the first time as the digital hub for RV’s spring marketing campaign.