Melbourne Cup Betting Guide

The Melbourne Cup will bring Australia to a standstill and the question is who can live up to last years magnificent spectacle when Makybe Diva won her third Melbourne cup and went down in History.

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This year's race features at the head of the 2006 Melbourne Cup betting a really top horse from Ireland and the Aidan O'Brien stable in Yeats. Yeats toyed with his rivals at Royal Ascot disposing of a handy field in the Ascot Gold Cup before winning at Goodwood. He was somewhat disappointing, rating to 126 when just beaten in the Irish St Leger (2800m) but has recovered well enough for champion trainer Aidan O'Brien to venture to Australia. With a Master Timeform rating of 129 he is clearly the best rated international stayer to contest the Melbourne Cup in recent times.

Yeats has been handicapped on 59kgs, just a kilo more than Makybe Diva carried to her record breaking win last year when she rated 129. There is no doubt Yeats will need to run to the 129 rating if he is to win on Tuesday.

Alongside Yeats at the head of the Melbourne Cup betting is imported galloper Tawqeet has done everything right this spring and can give in-form trainer David Hayes a unique clean sweep of three feature races culminating in today's Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Leading rider Damien Oliver, who was aboard on Saturday for the six-year-old final piece of work at Sandown, has already won two Melbourne Cups and rides Flemington as well as anyone, which is a bonus.

Perhaps the value runner of the internationals is Geordieland, who makes his Australian debut in the race. The SAAB winner Maybe Better looked very impressive on Saturday and there are few better conditioners than Brian Mayfield Smith. Maybe Better has switched between handicaps and weight-for-age races this campaign but had to win the SAAB to force his way into the Cup.M

Free Horse Racing Bets at Betfair

Having a Bet on the Melbourne Cup

To get the very best Melbourne Cup Odds make sure you Check out www.betfair.com as you will get much better value than on the TAB. Betfair has made a huge impact on the betting scene in the UK and opening an account is very straightforward for Australian Customers who can use your credit cards and this is recommend because it represents the quickest method to fund your account.

To open an account simply follow the links and when you get to the Betfair home page you will see the country box at the top of the page, once you click on Australia just follow the simple instructions and you will able to place your Melbourne cup bet in minutes. Withdrawing funds should you win is also very straightforward as they will be paid directly back to your card.