Sydney Cup Tips, Best Bets, Odds, Field & More 2026

As one of the biggest Group One races on the Australian calendar, we always see some of the best racehorses competing in the Sydney Cup each year. The Sydney Cup is raced on Day Two of The Championship, which includes other key Group One races like the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Best Sydney Cup Betting Sites

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the Sydney Cup, there are some quick facts you should be across:

The Sydney Cup is raced each year under handicap conditions and is for racehorses 3YO and over. The first edition of the Sydney Cup was back in 1862, when it was a part of the Autumn Racing Carnival. The inaugural edition of the race was won by Talleyrand.

There aren’t many races on the calendar in Australia that are contested over a distance of 3,200m, but the Sydney Cup is one of them (and the Melbourne Cup is another). While the Sydney Cup may not hold the same level of prestige as the Melbourne Cup does, it usually still attracts a high-quality line-up.

We have seen several changes to the name of the Sydney Cup over the years. Some of the other names the Sydney Cup was referred to in the past include: the Randwick Grand Handicap, Randwick Grand Handicap Sweepstakes, and the Sydney Gold Cup.

While the race currently holds Group One status, this wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t until 1980 that the race was granted Group One status, and this was the year the Sydney Cup was won by the great Kingston Town. The Sydney Cup takes place during Sydney’s Autumn Racing Carnival each year.

Finding the best Sydney Cup horse racing tips shouldn’t be that difficult, especially considering you are already here at Australianbettingsites.net.au! We provide tips and best bets for all the biggest races on the calendar, including Sydney Cup tips, Melbourne Cup tips, Caulfield Cup tips and more.

On top of this, we provide daily horse racing tips. We know there are winners to be found each and every day, not just when the biggest races of the year are on. So, make sure you check our tips page regularly for all the details you’ve been looking for.

We want to ensure you have an enjoyable experience when betting on the Sydney Cup, so we have developed a short list of tips and tricks for you:

• Follow In-Form Jockeys & Trainers - While a lot of the attention is usually on the horses, you shouldn’t forget about the jockeys and trainers either. Look for jockey/ trainer combinations that have been successful in the past.
• Look at Recent Results - See the type of races each racehorse has been competing in recently (i.e. has it been at Group One level?). Also, look for racehorses that have had recent success at the same track and trip.
• Use Multiple Bookies - There are so many different horse racing betting sites, and they all have a slightly different offering. So, take advantage of all that’s on offer by opening accounts with different bookies.
• Look Beyond the Favourite - Yes, the favourite is usually the favourite for a reason, but you shouldn’t get blinded by that fact. It’s always a good idea to look into some of the other runners in the race and see if you can pick up some value.

We have experience with pretty much every betting site on the market, including some of the new betting sites that have just popped up. With this experience, we have found some that really stand out from the crowd when it comes to their horse racing offering.

With so many bet types available for the Sydney Cup, it can be difficult to choose just one. You don’t have to stick with the same bet type day in and day out, though. However, it is a good idea to have at least a basic knowledge of what is involved with each betting market.

We explore some of the most popular Sydney Cup betting markets right here:

Taking place in the heart of Sydney’s Autumn Racing Carnival, the Sydney Cup always attracts a stellar field. Runners compete for the whopping $2 million worth of prize money that’s on the line, and the final field is confirmed a couple of days before the race, along with the barrier draw.

Once the field has been confirmed, the form guide will be available. If you’re betting on the Sydney Cup, it’s important to check out the form guide as well as any key form indicators that may point you in the direction of the next potential winner. Stats like which barrier has the most wins, the weight of winning horses, age, sex and more should be investigated.

Check out which runners took part in the Sydney Cup last time out:

For the Sydney Cup, you may notice that different bookies offer different odds for the same runners. This is because bookies have different ranking factors, and sometimes the difference can be fairly significant, especially for roughies in the race.

With different odds for the same runner floating around, it’s a good idea to take some time and shop around. It usually doesn’t take that long, and it means you can get more bang for your buck. If you shop around regularly, it can all add up in the end.

To speed up the process a bit, we recommend using an odds comparison tool. This tool will display all the odds for each runner in the Sydney Cup across multiple bookies. However, they may not include the odds across all your favourite bookies.

This means you might have to do a little bit of manual work, but it probably won’t be as much if you didn’t check an odds comparison tool first. Another option is to stick with bookies that have a reputation for offering highly competitive odds all the time, like Bet Right and PlayUp.

Roughies got the better of some of the more favoured runners in the 2025 Sydney Cup. The Bjorn Baker-trained gelding, Arapaho, took out the Sydney Cup, winning by 2.95L, after going around with odds of $20 to get the win. Waltham, who jumped from barrier 13 with odds of $50, was storming home and finished in second place.

Rounding out the final minor placing was the Chris Waller-trainered mare, River Of Stars, who was paying $20 to win the Sydney Cup, and she finished 3.5L off the leader. The pre-race favourite, Alalcance, ended up fading in the closing stages of the race, and she finished down in 17th place.

See where each runner finished in the latest edition of the Sydney Cup here:

It was an action-packed Sydney Cup, and you can see how the race went down right here:

We’ve seen some pretty iconic racehorses win the Sydney Cup in the past, and we go through a recent history of the winners here:

If you still have some questions, you’ve come to the right place, as we’ve got answers. We go through some of the most commonly asked questions about the Sydney Cup and answer them all right here in this section.