Flemington draws biggest Melbourne Cup Day crowd since 2016

Flemington drew 97,112 people to Melbourne Cup Day, the biggest Cup Day crowd since 97,479 attended in 2016.

The figure is 12,739 more than last year’s 84,373. It also passes the 91,168 who attended in 2024, which had been the strongest Cup Day since the pandemic.

It remains well short of the record 122,736 set in 2003, before the club introduced a 120,000 cap in 2007 to prevent overcrowding.

Robbie Williams performed a 12-minute set in the Mounting Yard before the $10.2 million Group 1, a production the VRC described as the largest staged there.

The crowd follows the VRC’s return to profit in October. The club posted a $5.4 million net profit after a $7.2 million loss in 2024/25 and cut its debt from $67.5 million to $52 million.