If recent years are anything to go by, the 2012 Caulfield Cup is shaping up to be one exciting race. The Caulfield Cup field is an elite Group One race that takes place on the final day of the three day Caulfield Cup Carnival meeting, as part of the wider Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne. The Spring Racing Carnival is the most important and anticipated sporting event in the nation every year, capturing the hearts and attention of spectators and punters alike for 50 days in October and November. The Caulfield Cup is one of the earliest major events and the 2010 running of the race is set to take place on Saturday October 16.
The Caulfield Cup is one of the key lead-up races to the Melbourne Cup and a racing sensation in its own right. Held before the Moonee Valley Cox Plate, the Caulfield Cup is run over a distance of 2400 metres and attracts the country’s leading three-year-olds and above in a handicap race offering over $2.5 million in prize money. Admired for its elite field of contenders and tough conditions, the Caulfield Cup is also highly regarded as an indicator of runners likely to further their success in the Cox Plate or Melbourne Cup. Nearly all serious contenders for the Melbourne Cup must go via the Caulfield Cup, and it has produced a number of victors at Flemington.
Featuring in two of the Spring Racing Carnival’s most wagered betting doubles, this race is fundamental to the carnival’s betting scene. The Caulfield – Melbourne Cups double and the Caulfield Cup – Cox Plate double are both very popular bets at sites like SportsBet, and you can get better odds the further out from the races that you place your bets.
You can get on board the 2010 Caulfield Cup betting action as early as August, with fixed price odds available as soon as the first nominations are in. In fact, you can already place bets on the 2010 Caulfield Cup, as the early odds are already available from SportsBet, IASbet and SportingBet. However, the final field of runners for the 2010 Caulfield Cup will not be fully established or confirmed until mid-October, so these early bets require a little more risk for the trade-off of superior odds. Early betting is also available on the 2011 Melbourne Cup, though it comes with the same degree of risk.
The Caulfield Cup day also has the following Group 3 races, Norman Robinson Stakes, David Jones Cup & Moonga Stakes.
After 2010, BMW will cease its five year deal with the Melbourne Racing Club as the sponsor of the Caulfield Cup. New sponsorship will commence in 2011, and there is much talk and expectation surrounding who the next sponsor of this spectacular race will be. Foster’s Australia sponsored the race before BMW, so the Caulfield Cup horse racing does draw a competitive pool of successful businesses filing for the sponsorship contract.
