The 2019 Victoria Derby is held during the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and is the first big race in the Melbourne Cup Four Day Carnival. Worth $2 million in prize money, the Victoria Derby – or VRC Derby – is held at Flemington Racecourse on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup each year. The Group 1 race was first run in 1855, making it the oldest of Australia’s Classic races. The Derby is run over a distance of 2,500 metres on Flemington’s left handed grass track.

2019 Victoria Derby Results

• 1st: TBD
• 2nd: TBD
• 3rd: TBD

The Victoria Derby is the feature race of Victoria Derby Day, which is the only race day in Australia where every single race has Group Status. In recent years, Derby Day has become known as ‘Men’s Day’ in the Fashion Stakes, and each year men compete in the ‘Fashions on the Field’ for money and prizes. It is customary for racegoers to wear black and white attire on the day. The Victoria Derby now attracts crowds that top 100,000 each year.

Originally run over a distance of one and a half miles, the race’s distance was changed to 2,400 metres in 1972 due to the introduction of the metric system in Australia. The distance was then changed to 2,500 metres a year later when problems arose from the short run between the start and the first turn out of the straight.

The Victoria Derby is a set weight race for three-year-old colts, geldings and fillies. In the race colts and geldings are required to carry 55.5 kilograms, while fillies must carry 53.5 kilograms. The first three horses to ever win the race were fillies named Rose of May (1955), Flying Doe (1956) and Tricolor (1957). However, no filly has been successful in recent years, with the last filly to win the Victoria Derby being Frances Tressady in 1923. During the years between 1931 and 1956 geldings were not allowed to compete in the Victoria Derby.

In the Victoria Derby’s history only one horse has won the race more than once. A horse named Fireworks accomplished this by winning consecutive titles in both 1867 and 1868. Throughout the running of the Victoria Derby three horses have won their maiden in the race. This includes Martini Henry, a New Zealand bred horse, who won in 1883. More recently, Fire Oak in 1990, Redding in 1992  and Preferment in 2014 have won Victoria Derby as a maiden galloper. Other notable horses to win the Victoria Derby include Phar Lap (1929), Efficient (2006), Lion Tamer (2010) and Ace High (2017). Star Of The Realm holds the record for fastest time at 2 minutes and 33.6 seconds for his run in 1991.

Top Adelaide based jockey Clare Lindop became the first female rider to win the Victoria Derby on Rebel Raider in 2008, while Gai Waterhouse was the first female trainer to saddle up the of Victoria Derby with Nothin’ Leica Dane in 1995.

Victoria Derby Results

2019 Victoria Derby Results

The VRC Derby 2019 full results will be published here once the race has been won and run.

Victoria Derby Field

The Victoria Derby field is limited to a total of 16 runners plus four emergencies. Victoria Derby nominations are first released in late September. The final field of 16 runners is announced on the Wednesday before the race is run. The race field is decided by a balloting system. Horses that have won the most prize money in the past two years or have placed or won eligible lead-up races generally have the highest chances of making the Victoria Derby field.

Victoria Derby Field & Odds

2019 Victoria Derby First Acceptances

The 2019 Victoria Derby first acceptances will be announced in late October and published in full below.

The Victoria Derby field is open to three-year-old horses only and is run under set-weight conditions. For that reason, all the fillies in the race must carry 53.5 kilograms, while all colts and geldings in the race are allocated 55.5 kilograms. Despite the fact that fillies are eligible to compete, they rarely feature in the running of the race. The Victoria Derby is often made of up of colts and geldings only and the last filly to win the race was Frances Tressady in 1923. Three-year-old fillies usually opt to run instead in the VRC Oaks, which is held five days later at the same track and open to their sex and age group only.

2019 Victoria Derby Nominations

The 2019 Victoria Derby nominations are taken in late September and will be published in full below.

The VRC Derby 2019 nominations attracted 85 three-year-old entries including nine for the Lindsay Park team. Dulcify Quality winner Just Thinkin’, New Zealander Quick Thinker for former Derby winning trainer Murray Baker and the sole filly in the mix Aspect Ratio are other standout entries.

Victoria Derby Form Guide

People also the performances of Victoria Derby runners to help predict how those same horses will fair in races such as the VRC Oaks for three-year-old fillies, Queen Elizabeth Stales, Sandown Classic, Geelong Cup and Ballarat Cup.

People produce a Victoria Derby form guide based on the runner’s performances in lead-up races like the Cox Plate and Caulfield Guineas. However, the best assessment of how a horse will perform in the Victoria Derby is often found by watching the Group 3 Norman Robinson Stakes, Geelong Classic for the three year olds, and Group 2 MV Vase at Moonee Valley. These races are so helpful in forming a Victoria Derby form guide because they are run under the same three-year-old set weight conditions and are run over a similar distance. Furthermore, because many of the hopeful Victoria Derby runners will run in these races, it is a good opportunity to assess how they will fare against each other.

Victoria Derby Betting

The Victoria Derby is a popular race when it comes to betting. Because it has one of the smaller fields of all the spring carnival features, it is easier to pick a winner as there are fewer horses to choose from. Also, due to the fact that there are many similar conditioned lead-up races to the Victoria Derby, punters usually have a feel for how horses will perform against one another on the day.

Like many of the major spring carnival features, the Victoria Derby can be coupled up in multibets which has become very popular with punters. Bets on the Victoria Derby can also be placed in the form of quadrella, quinellas, trifectas and exactas. Mystery trifectas are often a favourable option for people who would like to have a bet on the race but do not know much of the runners’ past performances or form. Basic win and place bets are also extremely popular among punter betting on the Victoria Derby.

Victoria Derby Odds

Odds for the Victoria Derby initially are released in late September when the very first round of nominations are released. These are usually in the form of fixed-price bets, as the final field is yet to be named. This means that good horses will be offered at what is usually a better price than usual, however, should they not run in final field then all stakes laid will be lost.

New odds are constantly released in the month before the Victoria Derby as each new round of nominations are announced. Precise odds will be released when the final field and barrier draw is announced on the Wednesday before the Victoria Derby. The barrier draw in particular has a large impact on what odds certain horses will be offered at. Horses that have drawn a good barrier (generally 1-8) will be more likely to firm in price, while those with an outside barrier may experience inflated odds.

Victoria Derby odds will also be affected by how each of the runners has performed in lead-up races such as the Cox Plate, Caulfield Guineas, Norman Robinson Stakes, Listed Geelong Classic and AAMI Vase. Horses that have come up trumps against the majority of the Victoria Derby runners on numerous occasions will likely find themselves as the race favourite.

Victoria Derby Tips

Victoria Derby tips are usually based on a variety of factors. As previously mentioned, each horse’s performance in races leading up to the Victoria Derby will have a large influence on the tips. This is particularly true for the Listed Cranbourne Cup, Norman Robinson Stakes, Listed Geelong Cup and AAMI Vase as they have the same race conditions as the Victoria Derby.

People also often base their tips on the barrier draws. Usually when a runner draws an outside gate, it leads to them having a much harder run than those who have drawn inside. Should a horse get caught wide due to jumping from a wide barrier, they may face the prospect of covering far more of a distance than those horses that have obtained the inside run. Because the Victoria Derby is a 2,500 metre stayers’ race, this can result in horses tiring before they are asked to make their final run down the home straight.

Victoria Derby tips are also formulated by looking at the state of the track. If, for example, the track is wet, then horses that can handle the soft ground will usually be a good tip. Some horses also need soft ground if they have had leg, knee or hoof injuries in the past, so a dry track could cause them to pull up lame before the winning post. All of these factors must be considered when putting together Victoria Derby tips.

Victoria Derby Day

Victoria Derby Day is held on the first day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival. It always occurs on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup in late October or early November.  Victoria Derby Day has a total of nine Group races run at the meet. These include the group 1 Longines Mile, Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, Group 1 Myer Classic, Group 2 Wakeful Stakes, Group 2 Salinger Stakes, Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes, Group 3 The Lexus Stakes and Group 3 Chatham Stakes. The entire Victoria Derby Day is worth a total of $4.8 million in prize money.

Many runners who are competing in the Melbourne Cup three days later take part in one of the events on Victoria Derby Day in order to loosen up for the big race. Also, The Lexus Stakes is one of the many races that offers a guaranteed start in the Melbourne Cup to the winner. Victoria Derby Day is represented by the Corn Flower.

Victoria Derby Day is colloquially known as “Men’s Day” by those who attend it. Men compete against each other at “Fashions on the Field” for money and prizes. It is traditional for the colours black and white to be worn by patrons on Victoria Derby Day.

Each year Victoria Derby Day draws large crowds to Flemington Racecourse. In 2006, Victoria Derby Day experienced a record attendance of nearly 130,000 people.

Victoria Derby Results

The Victoria Derby has been won by only colts and geldings since 1924. Three horses have broken their maiden by winning the Victoria Derby. These were Martini Henry in 1883, Fire Oaks in 1990, Redding in 1992 and Preferment in 2014. In 2005, Clare Lindop became the first female jockey to ride in a Victoria Derby. She then became the first female to win the race aboard Rebel Raider in 2008. Trainer Gai Waterhouse was the first female trainer to win a Victoria Derby, claiming victory with Nothin’ Leica Dane in 1995.

The fastest winning time by a Victoria Derby winner was Star Of The Real, who won the race in 2 minutes and 33.6 seconds in 1991. Bobbie Lewis posted the most wins of any jockey in the Victoria Derby, winning the race eight times from 1900-1927, while trainer James Scobie has also won the most Victoria Derby’s with eight triumphs from 1900-1937.

Since the Victoria Derby is the oldest classic race still being run in Australia, there have been many champions who have claimed victory throughout its history, including Poseidon (1906), Phar Lap (1929), Comic Court (1948), Tulloch (1957) and Tobin Bronze (1965).

Victoria Derby Winners & Placings

The table below shows the winners and results of the Victoria Derby since 2000.