The Aussie racing culture is alive and well in 2021 with Australian punters wagering more than $220m on the Melbourne Cup and in the process broke the wagering records for the Melbourne Spring Carnival as a whole.
In its financial reports post carnival The Victorian Racing Carnival recorded domestic betting turnover at $724.1m. This marks a significant 7.6% increase on the previous domestic wagering volume for the four carnival events.
Racing fans punted nearly half the kitty on Melbourne Cup day alone with $372.8m wagered on Cup day. This was up marginally by nearly 2% year on year with $223.8m of that wagered on the Cup itself.
The Victoria Derby was the main race day that saw a significant increase in wagering behaviour with betting on the VRC Derby up 4.7% and betting on the on the day up 11.2% overall on the previous year.
According to the VRC wagering revenues were up significantly around the world with the US reportedly having a significant rise in betting activity on the race.
VRC Chief Exec Steve Rosich was understandably delighted with what had topped an excellent week of racing and the first with live crowds back at the event.
“The VRC was delighted to welcome back over 30,000 racing fans to Flemington this year within government approved parameters, generating more than 6,000 event and hospitality jobs through the staging of the Carnival,” Rosich said.
“We are thrilled to cap that off with 7.6 per cent growth in wagering turnover for Cup Week.”