2018 Melbourne Cup 2018 Melbourne Cup The 2018 Melbourne Cup (known commercially as 2018 Lexus Melbourne Cup) was the 158th running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race was run over on 6 November 2018 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Lexus commenced a five year naming rights sponsorship deal, taking over from Emirates. It was the last Melbourne Cup broadcast by the Seven Network before Network Ten takes over in 2019. The race was won by Cross Counter, ridden by Kerrin McEvoy and trained by Charlie Appleby. Irish colt The CliffsofMoher was euthanised after he suffered a fractured
Melbourne Cup injuries saw the horse not race for another 20 months. Efficient, the previous year's VRC Derby winner, won the race. In 2013, Damien Oliver returned from an eight-month ban, after betting against his own mount at a previous race meet, to win his 3rd Melbourne cup. Melbourne Cup day is a public holiday for all working within metropolitan Melbourne and some parts of regional Victoria, but not for some country Victorian cities and towns which hold their own spring carnivals. For federal public servants it is also observed as a holiday in the entire state of Victoria, and from 2007