The Melbourne Cup — the race that stops the nation — is here again with a field of 24 local and international horses racing over 3200m for a whopping $8 million in prizemoney.

Here are the key things you need to know ahead of the 164th running of the great race.

START TIME: WHEN IS IT ON?

As always, the first Tuesday in November — this year falling on the 5th. This year’s race will start at 3pm AEDT.

So that’s 3pm for Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Hobart. The race begins at 1.30pm if you’re in Darwin, 2pm in Brisbane and 2.30pm in Adelaide.

HOW CAN I WATCH THE MELBOURNE CUP?

Channel 10 broadcasts the Melbourne Cup Carnival including the feature race itself.

You can also live stream the race, Saturday’s barrier draw, and much more via Racing.com on Kayo, or watch via the racing channels on Foxtel.

Watch Spring Racing and the Melbourne Cup LIVE on Kayo Sports. Join now and start streaming instantly >

WHO IS IN THE FIELD?

That’s still to be finalised but you can check out the latest order of entry here.

According to Racenet the final field could look something like this:

1 – VAUBAN (Trainer: Willie Mullins; Jockey: William Buick) 55.5kg

2. – BUCKAROO (Chris Waller; Joao Moreira) 54.5kg

3 – CIRCLE OF FIRE (Ciaron Maher, Mark Zahra) 54.5kg

4 – WARP SPEED (Noboru Takagi; Akira Sugawara) 54kg

5 – KOVALICA (Chris Waller, Damian Lane) 53.5kg

6 – SHARP ‘N’ SMART (Graeme & Deborah Rogerson, Michael Dee) 53.5kg

7 – JUST FINE (Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott; Jye McNeill) 53kg

8 – LAND LEGEND (Chris Waller; Zac Purton) 53kg

9 – ABSURDE (Willie Mullins; Kerrin McEvoy) 52.5kg

10 – ATHABASCAN (John O’Shea & Tom Charlton; Zac Lloyd) 52kg

11 – MAHRAJAAN (Shaune Ritchie & Colm Murray; Declan Bates) 52kg

12 – KNIGHT’S CHOICE (John Symons & Sheila Laxon; Robbie Dolan) 51.5kg

13 – OKITA SOUSHI (Ciaron Maher; Jamie Kah) 51kg

14 – ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (Brian Ellison; Craig Williams) 51kg

15 – MURAMASA (Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young; Tyler Schiller) 51kg

16 – ZARDOZI (James Cummings; Andrea Atzeni) 51kg

17 – VALIANT KING (Chris Waller; Craig Newitt) 50.5kg

18 – INTERPRETATION (Ciaron Maher; Teo Nugent) 50kg

19 – FANCY MAN (Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald; Ron Stewart) 50kg

20 – SEA KING (Harry Eustace; Hollie Doyle) 50kg *

21 – THE MAP (Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray; Rachel King) 50kg

22 – MOSTLY CLOUDY (Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young; Karis Teetan) 50kg

23 – POSITIVITY (Andrew Forsman; Winona Costin) 50kg

24 – MISSION OF LOVE (John Symons & Sheila Laxon; Nikita Beriman) 50kg

FRINGE HORSES

25 – TRUST IN YOU (Bruce Wallce & Grant Cooksley; Mark Du Plessis) 50kg

26 – SAINT GEORGE (Ciaron Maher; TBC) 50kg

27 – BRAYDEN STAR (Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young; Ben Thompson) 50kg

* Sea King likely faces a weight penalty for his Bendigo Cup win on Wednesday.

WHAT PRIZEMONEY IS ON OFFER?

A total of $8 million, the same as last year. It’s broken down as follows:

1st $4.4 million, 2nd: $1.1 million, 3rd: $550,000, 4th: $350,000, 5th: $230,000, 6th-12th: $160,000

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WHO WON IT LAST YEAR?

Without a Fight won last year’s race in stunning fashion to complete a rare Australian horse racing double — becoming just the 11th horse to win both the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup in the same year.

The victory also vindicated the tough decision made by jockey Mark Zahra, who chose to ride the eventual winner ahead of Gold Trip, whom he rode to victory in the race in 2023.

It was clearly the right call, with the $7 shot storming home to win, while $10 hope Soulcombe finished second and $126 outsider Sheraz finished third in a huge shock.

WHO ARE THE FAVOURITES THIS YEAR?

News that Cox Plate winner Via Sistina will bypass the Melbourne Cup means Chris Waller-trained import Buckaroo has been left the $5 favourite for Tuesday’s race.

The horse headed into the Caulfield Cup with some concerns about whether it would run the 2400m but it finished powerfully to come second behind Duke De Sessa.

Buckaroo is battling from favouritism with another English raider Onesmoothoperator ($6), who produced a scintillating win in the Geelong Cup.

Vauban, favourite last year before finishing 14th, is next priced at $8 ahead of Sea King ($10) who impressed in winning Wednesday’s Bendigo Cup.