Melbourne Cup Carnival draws biggest crowd since 2017 as Stakes Day passes 70,000
The Victoria Racing Club drew 307,889 people across the four days of the 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival, up 7.4 per cent on 2025 as Champions Stakes Day attracted 70,414, its largest crowd since 2012.
The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) recorded 307,889 attendances across the four days of the 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival, its largest aggregate attendance since 2017, after 70,414 attended Saturday’s TAB Champions Stakes Day at Flemington.
That final-day crowd was the biggest for Stakes Day since 2012, when 74,546 attended, and 5,402 more than the 65,012 the club recorded last year.
The carnival total is 21,143, or about 7.4 per cent, above the 286,746 announced for 2025, and sits 2719 short of the 310,608 who attended in 2017.
The club said its four carnival days were Australia’s four highest-attended race meetings of 2026.
Lexus Melbourne Cup Day drew 97,112, up 12,739 on last year and the most since 2016. Howden Victoria Derby Day attracted 88,146, its best since 2018, while Crown Oaks Day drew 52,217, the highest since 2019 and 978 more than in 2025.
Carnival attendance has risen every year since the pandemic closure of 2020 and the restricted crowds of 2021. It went from 244,208 in 2022 to 262,165 in 2023 and 285,675 in 2024.
The figures follow the VRC’s return to profit last month. The club reported a $5.4 million net profit for FY26, its first since FY20, and attributed it partly to the 2025 carnival, alongside growth in sponsorship and broadcast rights, as well as membership, which reached a record 36,148.
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