The Metropolitan Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2024

The Metropolitan is an annual horse racing event held at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. It is an event steeped in history having been first held in 1863, when it was known as the Great Metropolitan Stakes, the name change to the current form was in 1979.

This race is 2,400 metres, with a prize purse of $750K, for horses 3YO+, under open handicap conditions. It is considered one of the premier staying races in the country, attracting top-class horses, trainers and jockeys. Horses running this length would also consider the Caulfield Cup (2,400m) and of course the Melbourne Cup (3,200m), yet, to date, no horse has ever won all three races.

Handicap races are designed to create a more level playing field by assigning varying weights to horses based on past performance. This system can certainly produce a more thrilling and competitive race.

Two other races take place at Randwick Racecourse on the same day as The Metropolitan. Those races are the Epsom Handicap and the Flight Stakes. There’s heaps more racing that takes place during Spring at Randwick, which is why many consider it one of the top tracks in the country.

There are a few races that if a runner can win, they are exempt from the ballot for The Metropolitan. Those races include; the Colin Stephen Quality, the Kingston Stakes and the Newcastle Gold Cup. If a horse can win The Metropolitan and then go on to win the Rosehill Gold Cup later in the year, they will get a $500K bonus.

On top of this, the horse that wins The Metropolitan will also be exempt from the ballot for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes the following year. The Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a $5 million race that is held during Day Two of The Championships at Sydney’s Autumn Racing Carnival.

As you’ll soon figure out, OnlyRacing.com.au has every aspect of The Metropolitan covered. No matter if you’re looking for hot tips for the race or a detailed history, we have everything that you could ever need here. This page gets updated multiple times a year as well, so all the information is as accurate as possible.

Before we move on, we thought it would be a good idea to give a breakdown of the prize money that’s on offer for The Metropolitan. Check out all the deets below:

So, you want some The Metropolitan tips? Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place. We’ll take care of everything for you and our experts that tip The Metropolitan have a lot of experience under their belts. We also have free horse racing tips for weekly racing, if you want to get those betting juices flowing now!

At this stage, our tips for The Metropolitan aren’t available just yet. This is probably not the news you want to hear, but our experts are waiting until the final field is confirmed before crunching all the numbers. We don’t want to give you dud tips, so we want all the information possible.

Until race week, you can check out our tips for The Metropolitan in 2023. Use the benefit of hindsight to judge how well our experts performed below:

The Metropolitan Best Bet - Just Fine

Every single other runner is listed in double-digits and is it any wonder why, Just Fine is on fire! No value at the $1.75 quote, but a winner is a winner and it’s money in your pocket at the end of the day. I might be popping Just Fine into an SGM to boost up the odds. He has been excellent in the UK and Ireland before coming to our shores.

Just Fine put in an easy victory at Randwick at the beginning of the month and then backed that up with another comfortable win in the Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes. The next step is The Metropolitan and amazingly, he’ll race with just 50kg on his back. That’s a 7.5kg difference to top weight, Knights Order!

The Metropolitan Next Best - Benaud

I think The Metropolitan is the perfect race for Benaud, too bad he has just run into one better. Benaud is currently listed at $12 and while he may not win this race, he is certainly capable of running in the top three and is one to watch for the rest of the Spring. 

As a 3YO he performed well in Group 1 company, then a bit of a step back as a 4YO, but he has returned this prep in some solid form. His win in the Wyong Gold Cup was eye-catching and last time out he was second behind Just Fine in the Kingston Town Stakes. I’m hoping for more of the same this time out!

The Metropolitan Best Roughie - Major Beel

I’ve found a roughie that I think can raise a few eyebrows in The Metropolitan this Saturday. Major Beel comes in at odds of $16 at the time of writing and while this is a significant rise in class, he is fitter for the three runs under his belt so far this prep.

He won the Australian Derby at this track and trip during Autumn in 2023, so I’d say he is certainly in with a chance of a top-three finish. This is the perfect trip for him, so there are no excuses this time. If he can get a bit of luck, he will certainly give Just Fine something to chase in the closing stages of this one.

We’ll be here when you need us for the 2024 tips! Don’t forget to come back during race week for all the updated information.

If you’re betting on The Metropolitan, there are some things that you should know. There are plenty of betting sites out there and it can be difficult to know which one is best for you. So, here is a simple strategy for deciphering the complex world of picking a bookie. At the end of the day, it comes down to two things:

1. Which bookie is going to offer you the best value for betting with them on feature races such as The Metropolitan. 
2. Which are your preferred markets or bets that you wish to place on the race.

So, you are trying to extract the most profit from your bets, if there are some betting promotions, then you could have some additional cover that could be worth exploring with the compromise of possibly lower odds being available from those bookmakers. Different bookies may have different promotions and bonuses, so it pays to look around.

Compare the odds for your picks across as many available betting apps as you can be bothered with or are already a member. For reference, we have a bookmaker review page that includes a pros and cons list for every single betting app that offers racing markets. 

Additionally, our bookmaker reviews feature in-depth reviews of specific bookmakers that we care to highlight. Some of these bookmakers include PlayUp, PalmerBet and Winnersbet. Bet on whichever available Australian bookmaker offers you the best price for your preferred bets on races. 

Another option is to simply bet with whichever bookie you are used to, or rather, most comfortable with. They may or may not offer the best odds, but it is a bookmaker that you know well and you can easily navigate their site or app to place bets.

As of this stage, The Metropolitan field is yet to be confirmed. We usually see the final field announced during race week each year. As soon as the final field is announced, we will bring you all this information. One thing we do know though, is that it’s going to be a bumper field with top-notch runners!

If you can’t wait until race week, then we suggest taking a look at the current odds market for The Metropolitan. If the odds are available, they’ll tell you which runners are more likely to make an appearance in the field, i.e. look for the runners with the shortest odds.

We can’t tell you which runners will line up for The Metropolitan in 2024, but what we can do is take a look back and see the field that fought it out for Group 1 glory in 2023. Check out all the details below:

In the 2023 edition of The Metropolitan, we saw 18 runners confirmed, with no emergencies. Before the race, we saw a total of three runners scratched from the race, including; Knights Order, Hosier and Future History. This resulted in the field of runners for The Metropolitan being dropped to 15.

If you’ve had a look around at some upcoming horse racing fields, you’ll notice that scratchings are a fairly common occurrence. Even in races like The Metropolitan, where there is a lot of prestige attached to it, scratchings still happen. There are many reasons why scratchings happen and they can occur at any time, so be sure to keep an eye on things.

Something else that’s important to note is the barrier draw. The barrier each runner jumps from can have a fairly significant influence on how the race will play out. Some runners also have a certain racing style that suits either an inside or wider barrier.

The Metropolitan has been around for a while now and with so many year’s worth of data and stats to go through, putting together the form guide can be a tough and tedious task. If you’re not up for the challenge, never fear, the OnlyRacing team is here!

We’ve laid down all the groundwork and found some of the nuggets of gold that you need to be aware of before placing any bets. Over the years, some pretty clear patterns have emerged and we’ve found some important form indicators for the race. Check out all the details below!

With where The Metropolitan is placed in the Spring Racing Carnival, we usually see several different formlines coming into the race. Some of the most popular lead-up races include the likes of the Colin Stephens, the Newcastle Cup and the Kingston Town Stakes, which are all Group 3s.

In the past, we’ve seen runners who have had lead-up races in NSW be more successful. Since 2003, we’ve only seen four winners come from a lead-up race that wasn’t in NSW. In particular, the Kingston Town Stakes has had the most success, with eight winners of The Metropolitan coming from this race since 2010.

Mares don’t have the best record in The Metropolitan as there has only been one winner since 2001, which was Montefilia in 2021. Favourites also don’t have a good record, since 2006, we have only seen three favourites winning. One of those favourites was Just Fine in 2023!

We see some of the best-ever horses compete in The Metropolitan each year. This has been the case pretty much since its inspection and so we decided to create a section on this page and dedicate it to all the top The Metropolitan horses out there.

We go through the careers of some of the top horses in the industry, talking about their achievement and any honours they have gained. There are a lot of horses to choose from, so we had to make some tough decisions. Hopefully, you agree with the choices we’ve made below:

Tim Whiffler - 1867

Tim Whiffler won The Metropolitan in 1867 and the stallion ended his career with a record of 57:23-14-7. Most notably, Tim Whiffler won the Melbourne Cup in 1867 and in that year there were two horses by the name of Tim Whiffler in the race (this Tim Whiffler was referred to as “Tim Whiffler Sydney”)! 

Beau Vite - 1940

With a record of 60:31-9-5, Beau Vite won The Metropolitan in 1940. A member of both the Australian and New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, Beau Vite won races like the Cox Plate, the Champions Stakes and the Ranvet Stakes.

Battle Heights - 1976

The heavily raced Battle Heights competed in 115 races, winning 23 of them, one of which being The Metropolitan in 1976. He won some of the biggest Group One races in Australia including; the Cox Plate, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Sydney Cup.

Ming Dynasty - 1978

Ming Dynasty is one of the best ever horses to grace the track in Australia. The gelding won The Metropolitan in 1978 and some of the other key races he won included; the Caulfield Cup, the Australian Cup and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He even has a race named after him, the Ming Dynasty Quality.

Railings - 2005

With over $3 million in prize money, Railings won some key races throughout his career, including The Metropolitan in 2005. He ended his career with a record of 42:7-4-3 and the other key race he won was the Caulfield Cup.

Before you go placing any bets, you need to check out The Metropolitan odds. Odds are a funny thing because they are always changing and sometimes the same runner can have different odds at a different bookie. There are so many factors that go into influencing the odds each bookie has.

With the fickle nature of odds, we always recommend that if you see a price you like, you jump on it straight away. You don’t want to risk the odds going down as that’s easy value you have left on the table! There will be plenty of horse racing markets for you to bet on as well, especially during the week of the race. 

All the top bookies will open up Fixed Win and Place markets before race week, so if you want to get your bets on early, you can do so. However, at this stage, it’s still a bit too early and our favourite bookie, PlayUp, hasn’t released their market just yet. We will keep an eye on this though and bring you the information when it is released.

It’s a good idea to note the stage the market is in as well. If you see the market is listed as “Before Noms” this is the perfect time to bet because if the horse you chose doesn’t make the final field, you’ll get your stake back. If you notice the market is listed as “All-In” you won’t get your stake back, so this is something important to check.

Please come back again soon as we’ll have all The Metropolitan odds listed here once the market is released by PlayUp.

The Metropolitan has a long history having first been run in 1863 and its timing means it can also provide possible Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup contenders. Every race has been held at the Royal Randwick Racecourse, bar one in 1983 at Warwick Farm. There was no race in 2007 due to an outbreak of equine influenza.

The race has oscillated between 2,400m and 2,600m in the period since 1972 but settled on 2,400m in 2001. There have been six two-time winners, Hayai (1984 & 1985), Tails (1969 & 1970), Murray Stream (1945 & 1947), Cagou (1913 & 1917) and Mooltan (1907 & 1908). 

More recently in 2005, Tawqeet won the Caulfield Cup after winning The Metropolitan, similarly, Railings repeated the feat in 2006. The winner in 1992 was Te Akau Nick, it was Gai Waterhourse’s first Group 1 winner, Gai has now won The Metropolitan a record eight times.

It took until 1979 for The Metropolitan to officially become a Group 1 event, as it was previously classified as a Principle Race. Between the years of 1995 and 1999, the conditions of the race were changed by the Australian Jockey Club to set weights and penalties. 

There have been a couple of minor changes to the name of the race throughout the years:

• 1863-1888: Great Metropolitan Stakes
• 1889-1897: Metropolitan Stakes
• 1898-1978: Metropolitan Handicap
• 1979-now: The Metropolitan

The race takes place during one of Australia’s biggest horse racing carnivals, the Spring Racing Carnival and features some of the most well-known races. There is a whole heap of epic racing that takes place each weekend in both Sydney and Melbourne!

You’re reading these words, so we’re going to assume you’d like to know who won the latest edition of The Metropolitan? Well, we’ve got good news for you because all the results-related information you could ever need is right here. We have details on the finishing order of every runner as well as a full race replay.

In 2023, it was good viewing for all those favourite backers out there, as the heavy favourite, Just Fine, won The Metropolitan by just 0.2L! Spirit Ridge, a $41 chance, finished in second place and just couldn’t hold on to first from a fast finishing Just Fine.

It seems as though it was a two-horse race though, with Kalapour finishing a distant third, 4.5L off the leader. The Metropolitan was run in a time of 2:26.11 and there was a total of 23.55L that separated the entire field.

Take a look below to see where each runner finished in The Metropolitan:

Want to relive all the action? Of course, you do! Check out the full race replay of The Metropolitan below:

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! All the recent The Metropolitan winners have been compiled in a nice little table for you. Check out all the details below:

Before you head back into the big wide world, we’ve got one final section on The Metropolitan that you should check out. Our FAQs section covers all the most common questions people have about the race. Check out all the details below: