Home

Only 500 tickets available to public to attend this year’s Melbourne Cup

 NCA NewsWire
Jye McNeil rides Twilight Payment to victory in the 2020 Melbourne Cup. Alex Coppel
Camera IconJye McNeil rides Twilight Payment to victory in the 2020 Melbourne Cup. Alex Coppel Credit: News Corp Australia

Only 500 of the 10,000 tickets to the Melbourne Cup will be available to the public after the Victoria Racing Club released ticket details ahead of the return of crowds to sport in the state.

Flemington racecourse will be one of the first venues to host a fully vaccinated major event as Victoria opens up this week, with permission given for 10,000 people to attend each of three race meetings in Cup Week, well short of the normal 100,000.

But 70 per cent of the ticket allocation will go to members, and the rest to sponsors and owners, putting a premium on the 500 general admission tickets available to double-vaccinated members of the public, priced at $120 each.

Last year’s Melbourne Cup was run without a crowd at Flemington, and there have been no crowds at any race meetings in Victoria since July.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Every attendees on course will be seated in specific zones and not allowed to move between each due to Covid guidelines.

Melbourne Cup 2020
Camera IconThe 2020 Melbourne Cup day was run without a crowd. Alex Coppel. Credit: News Corp Australia

Anyone entering the course will need to show evidence of their vaccination status and wear masks at all times, unless eating or drinking.

Racing has continued uninterrupted throughout the pandemic, and the VRC made it clear it wanted to give priority to members who had been unable to attend while still paying for their membership.

“With less than 10 per cent of our usual capacity Melbourne Cup Carnival crowd for three of our four carnival days, we were committed to providing priority access to our members who have supported the club during the hardships of the last 18 months and ensure they had the opportunity to attend Australia’s greatest racing carnival,” VRC chief executive Steve Rosich said.

“The loyalty and support of our members, owners and partners has been outstanding, and we can’t wait to welcome racing fans back to Flemington and present world-class racing across the Melbourne Cup carnival.”

Crowds could still be possible before Melbourne Cup day, on November 2, with forecasts indicating that the 80 per cent double dose threshold could be reached ahead of time.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday that the government was on a possible scenario where Derby day could play host to crowds.

“I think there is some work going on at the moment about whether Melbourne Cup Day is, in fact, the trial event or whether Derby day might be,” Mr Andrews said.

Originally published as Only 500 tickets available to public to attend this year’s Melbourne Cup

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails