Geelong Cup Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2025

The Geelong Cup is one of the biggest races that takes place at Geelong Racecourse each year. In 2025, the race will take place on Wednesday, October 22nd and it is a Group 3 race. It is run under handicap conditions and at a distance of 2,400m.

We thought we should create a specific page for the Geelong Cup for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there is a mammoth $500K in prize money on offer, which is on a similar level to some of the Group 1 races on the calendar. Secondly, it is known as one of the ideal lead-up races to the Melbourne Cup.

We all know the Melbourne Cup is the biggest race on the calendar and it takes place at Flemington Racecourse each year, which is one of the top tracks in the country. While a win in the Geelong Cup doesn’t guarantee the runner will head to the Melbourne Cup, it certainly increases their chances.

Melbourne Cup form analysts also look closely at the Geelong Cup, as it is considered the key lead-up race. The Geelong Cup has been running 13 days before the Melbourne Cup since 1947 and is known as “Geelong Cup Day”, where those in the City of Geelong enjoy a public holiday!

OnlyRacing.com.au has got you covered with everything you need to know about this Group 3 race. From tips to results and everything in between. If it’s related to the Geelong Cup, we’ve got information about it on this page!

Before we get cracking on our Geelong Cup tips, we wanted to talk more about the prize money. There’s a cool $500K up for grabs in this race and the breakdown of the prize money can be found below:

Would you like some Geelong Cup tips? Of course, you would! We have some of the best free horse racing tips going around and we don’t just cover all the key races on the calendar, like the Geelong Cup, but we also offer Geelong tips as well for major meetings at the track. You’ll always find the latest and greatest tips with us here at OnlyRacing!

At this stage, our Geelong Cup tips aren’t available just yet. It’s not race week, so we don’t know which runners will line up in the race. As soon as we do, our experts will start crunching the numbers so they can get their tips to you as soon as possible.

Seeing that you’re already here, why don’t you check out the tips we put together for the Geelong Cup in 2024 here:

Geelong Cup Best Bet - Muramasa

Well, we have ourselves a pretty open field here for the 2024 Geelong Cup! We have three runners around the $4.00 to $5.50 mark, at the time of writing, thanks to PlayUp. For my best bet, I have to go with Muramasa. The gelding is currently on the third line of betting, with odds of $5.50, but things are likely to change between now and the race start.

He is contesting the Geelong Cup third up and wasn’t too far off it last time out when he was just 0.4L off the pace at Sandown, finishing third behind Berkeley Square. Before that, he finished second in the So You Think Stakes at Moonee Valley. A win here would improve his chances in the Melbourne Cup, so a lot is riding on this.

Geelong Cup Next Best - Francesco Guardi

Francesco Guardi has enough class to have gone in and contested the Caulfield Cup last weekend, but he didn’t. Did Chris Waller make the right decision? We will have to see. But I rate Francesco Guardi quite highly and with odds of $9.50 at the time of writing, there’s decent enough value for him.

On paper, his Turnbull Stakes run doesn’t stand out, but if you look deeper, I think he did the best he could. He didn’t have luck on his side and the breaks didn’t happen at the right time for him. He ended up finishing in the middle of the field, 4L off the pace. He’ll need to overcome the widest barrier of them all, but I’m confident he’ll run another great race.

Geelong Cup Best Roughie - The Map

There’s a lot of live chances in the Geelong Cup this year and it really wouldn’t surprise me to see a double-digit odds winner. In saying that, I really like the look of The Map, who is currently paying $15 with PlayUp. The mare didn’t do too much in the Geelong Cup last year, finishing 11th out of 13 runners, but she looks better coming into the race now.

Last time out, we saw The Map in the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes where she finished fifth, getting back a bridge too far and didn’t really look like threatening the leaders. She did find the line strong and Jamie Kah secures the ride for this race. Jumping from barrier two will give her a lot of choices in the beginning. Hopefully, she makes the right ones!

If you’re planning on betting on the Geelong Cup, there are a few things you should know! Firstly, the good news is that there are heaps of bookies in Australia that will offer Geelong Cup markets each year, so you have plenty of options if you want to try a new bookie. On top of this, there will be lots of different markets available.

With so many options with both bookies and markets, it can actually make it difficult to make a decision. When it comes to bookies, we recommend opening more than one account. Different betting sites will have slightly different offerings and odds, so it can pay to shop around to get the best promotions and odds.

If you’re not sure where to start, we have reviews of all the best horse racing betting apps and sites, so you’ll easily be able to find the perfect one for you. Some of our top recommendations include the likes of; PlayUp, Betfocus and Unibet.

In terms of the market you should go with, it’s recommended that you stick with the markets you fully understand. That doesn’t mean you can’t go out and do some research to learn more, but you should stick with what you are comfortable with.

Racing promotions are also a major factor to consider. Some bookies will have general racing promotions that they offer each week as well as specific promotions for major events. These promotions will range from bookie to bookie and you have to be an existing customer to be able to claim the promotion.

As soon as the 2025 Geelong Cup field is announced, we will bring you all that information in this section. We have to wait until race week for the Geelong Cup field information to be provided. Seeing that the race is one of the ideal lead-up races to the Melbourne Cup, we always see a quality field filled with both local and international talent.

If you want to see the type of runners that might be targeting the Geelong Cup, you should check out the current odds, if available. The odds will provide a look into the more favoured runners in the market and an indication of some potential runners for the race.

While you wait, you can check out all the runners that lined up in the Geelong Cup in 2024 here:

For the Geelong Cup in 2024, we saw a field of 15 runners confirmed, with no emergencies listed. In the end, we saw two pre-race scratchings with both Manzoice and Francesco Guardi being pulled from the race. This resulted in the field being reduced in size from 15 to 13. 

It’s important to remember that scratchings are a fairly common occurrence and can happen at any time. Even in key races where there is a stack of prize money on offer. There are several reasons why a horse may be scratched, so if you’ve put a bet on the race, it’s a good idea to check the field regularly to see if any scratchings have been announced.

Another good idea is to check the barrier draw. The gate each runner jumps from can have a fairly major influence on how the race pans out. Different runners have different racing styles as well, so that’s something to take into consideration as well. On top of this, if you look at the history of the Geelong Cup, you’ll notice that some barriers have seen more success than others over the years.

It’s always a good idea to check out the Geelong Cup form guide before placing any bets as the stats don’t lie. Looking at all the recent stats of past winners can shed some light and present some patterns. While following the pattern isn’t a 100% guarantee, you know you are betting with your head!

When it comes to the form guide, some of the important aspects you need to look into include:

• Recent past results
• Previous success in this race
• Success at track/ distance
• Lead-up races
• Barrier draw
• Success of favourites/ roughies
• Weight 
• Sex
• Age

If you look at all these aspects and see which runners in the past have had the most success, you can look for a similar runner in the upcoming race. Some of these aspects hold more weight than others, so it is important to be impartial and take your time to go through all the relevant information.

If you don’t have time or the skills to look at this data, you can always just check out our Geelong Cup tips! Our experts will do all the heavy lifting for you and they dig deep into all this data when producing their tips for the race, so you don’t have to.

With the Geelong Cup being an ideal lead-up race to the Melbourne Cup, we see some of the best-ever horses compete in the race, despite it only being a Group 3. We’ve seen local and international horses give the Geelong Cup a red-hot crack and the best horses from this race usually go on to make an appearance in the Melbourne Cup.

We’ve gone through the long history of the Geelong Cup and found a handful of winners that we think you should know more about. We take a look at their successes throughout their career in further detail. Check out some of the best-ever Geelong Cup horses below:

Karasi - 2001

Karasi was a top flat performer as a young horse and had some great wins, including in the 2001 Geelong Cup. In the same year, he also came fourth in the Melbourne Cup. Later in life, he became a champion steeplechase racehorse, winning the world's richest steeplechase race, the Nakayama Grand Jump, for three years in a row.

Media Puzzle - 2002

Media Puzzle was one of the runners who was able to complete the Geelong Cup - Melbourne Cup double, winning both races in 2002. He was named the 2003 Australian Champion Stayer and won almost $4 million in prize money throughout his career.

Americain - 2010

Just like Media Puzzle, Americain successfully completed the Geelong Cup - Melbourne Cup double. The stallion had a career record of 34:11-4-4 and amassed almost $6 million in prize money. He was named the 2011 Australian Champion Stayer.

Dunaden - 2011

Dunaden completed the Geelong Cup - Melbourne Cup double, just like Americain had done the year before. Along with his victory in the 2011 Melbourne Cup, Dunaden also won one of the biggest Group One races on the calendar, the Caulfield Cup, a year later in 2012. He had a career record of 46:10-11-8 and was named the 2011/12 Australian Champion Stayer.

Prince Of Arran - 2019

Prince Of Arran won over $3 million in prize money throughout his career but was never able to win a Group 1 race. After his victory in the Geelong Cup, he came a close second in the Melbourne Cup. He then returned the following year to give the Melbourne Cup another crack, but still couldn’t win, finishing in third place by 0.6L.

When betting on the Geelong Cup, it’s a good idea to shop around for the best odds. Different bookies may be offering different odds for the same runner/ market, so if you shop around, you could pick up a little bit of extra value here and there, especially if you are thinking of betting on roughies or markets with higher odds.

As we get closer to the Geelong Cup, you’ll notice that more horse racing markets will open up. Come race week, there will be heaps of markets for you to choose from, so no matter the type of bet you want to place, you’ll be able to do so! At this stage, our favourite bookie, PlayUp, hasn't released their odds for the Geelong Cup.

When the odds are released, you’ll probably notice how quickly they change. There are many different ranking factors that bookies take into consideration and this is why some bookies are offering a different price for the same runner/ market. So, if you see a price that tickles your fancy, it’s a good idea to jump on it while you still can.

We think one of the best times to bet on the Geelong Cup is when the market is listed as “Before Noms”. This is because you’ll get your stake returned to your account if the runner you bet on doesn’t end up making the final field. If you’re betting close to race day, when the market is listed as “All-In”, you won’t get this benefit.

We’ve got the Geelong Cup odds for the entire field here, thanks to our friends at PlayUp:

*Odds correct as of 22/10/2024.

The Geelong Cup has a long and rich history, with the race being run since 1872. However, everything changed in 1947 when the race moved to be run 13 days before the Melbourne Cup. Since then, the race has become an excellent lead-up to the Melbourne Cup and therefore we see a lot of high-quality runners compete.

The Melbourne Cup is undoubtedly the biggest horse race in the country and the whole of Victoria even gets a public holiday on this day. The race takes place during Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival, which is one of the biggest horse racing carnivals of the year and sees many enthusiasts come to the track to watch history take place.

Before 1907, the race was run at Marshalltown Racecourse and before 1947, the race was run at different times of the year, between January and July. In recent times, we’ve seen three runners complete the Geelong Cup - Melbourne Cup double, which includes the likes of; Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011).

Over the years there have been multiple changes to the distance of the Geelong Cup. However, more recently, since 1972, the race has pretty much always been run at a distance of 2,400m, except between 2008 and 2009, when the race was run at a distance of 2,406m.

There have also been a couple of changes to the grade of the race. From inception until 1978, the Geelong Cup was known as a Principal Race. Between 1979 and 2001, the race was upgraded to a Listed Race and then finally, from 2002 onwards, the race was promoted to Group 3 level.

If you want to know which runners performed well in the previous Geelong Cup, we’ve got all the details you’ve been searching for! We cover Geelong Cup results information like the finishing order of the entire field as well as a race replay, so you can see how the race unfolded.

The 2024 Geelong Cup was won by Onesmoothoperator, who was an $11 chance coming into the race. Before the Geelong Cup, Onesmoothoperator finished fourth in the Group 3 September Stakes, but he was coming off a six-week spell. Interpretation finished in second place, 2.25L off the pace.

Filling in the final minor placing was Muramasa, who was one of the more favoured runners in the market, 2.6L off the leader. In the end, the 2024 Geelong Cup was run in a time of 2:27.98 and there was a total of 10.51L that split the entire field.

Check out the full Geelong Cup results below:

If you want to relive all the action from the most recent Geelong Cup, we’ve got the video for you below. Check out the details:

There can only be one winner (unless there’s a dead heat!). So, if you’d like to know which horses have won the Geelong Cup in recent times, check out the table below that includes winners from 2010 to now:

One last section for you to check out before you’re a Geelong Cup expert! Our Geelong Cup FAQs section answers all the most common questions people have about the race. You can find all the questions below: