Adelaide Cup

Adelaide Cup

While the Adelaide Cup only holds Group 2 status it is one of the most popular and exciting races held in Adelaide every year. Run at Morphettville Racecourse in South Australia, the Adelaide Cup is the feature race of the Adelaide Cup Carnival that is held during the autumn.

Punters and racing enthusiasts are entertained with an elite line-up of races on the Adelaide Cup Day including the other Group 2 race of the day, the Yallambee Stud Classic, the Group 3 RN Irwin Stakes and the Group 3 Auraria Stakes.

Adelaide Cup Special Offer:
Get a $400 Bonus Bet from Luxbet

This exceptional day of racing takes place on the second Monday of March, which is a public holiday for the state of South Australia ensuring the crowds attending Adelaide Cup Day are large and the atmosphere thrilling! The 2012 Adelaide Cup will be run on Monday 14th March.

The Adelaide Cup is one of the last quality group races run over the traditional cup distance of 3200m, like the Melbourne Cup. It offers runners a good opportunity to really test their staying ability in a lengthy race run under open handicap conditions.

The field for the Adelaide Cup is typically made up of the leading local gallopers and some interstate horses seeking a two mile run. The race always produces a competitive field of contenders and the betting markets open on the Adelaide Cup are lucrative and engaging. The race offers prize money of $400,000 and is the only open handicap race held in Adelaide.

While the Adelaide Cup shares the same distance as the Melbourne Cup a horse has not won the Adelaide Cup / Melbourne Cup double since Subzero in 1992.

Other notable winners include Our Pompeii (1993 – 1994) and Lord Reims (1987 – 1989), who both managed to win two or more consecutive Adelaide Cups.

Adelaide Cup History:

Conducted by the South Australian Jockey Club (SAJC) the Adelaide Cup is one of Australia’s oldest races, first won by Falcon in 1864.

Beginning as a principal race run over 13 furlongs, the track distance was increased to 16 furlongs in 1945 until 1973 when Australia’s adoption of the metric system saw the Adelaide Cup run over 3200m. The race gained Group 1 status in 1989 and was a Group 1 event until 2007, when it was downgraded to Group 2 status much the same way as the Brisbane Cup was.

Adelaide Cup Lead-Up Races:

There are a number of races horses can go via in the lead-up to the Adelaide Cup including the Group 2 Perth Cup at Ascot in January, which is also an open handicap event but run over 2400m. Other key lead-up races that are of a shorter distance but run under similar conditions include the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield, the Royal Sovereign Stakes (1200m) at Randwick and the Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.

Adelaide Cup Betting:

All good online bookmakers offer a variety of competitive odds and betting options on the Adelaide Cup, and placing a wager on the race is the best way to get involved in one of Adelaide’s premier horse racing events! To place a bet on this year’s Adelaide Cup head on over to Tabcorp owned online bookmaker Luxbet.

Adelaide Cup – Race Details:

• Date: Early March
• Track Location: Morphettville Racecourse, Adelaide
• Distance: 3200m
• Race Conditions: Open Handicap
• Status: Group 2
• Stakes: $400 000
• First Run: 1864