taThe 2019 Cox Plate is a Group 1 thoroughbred race held at Moonee Valley Racecourse in October of each year. Raced over a distance of 2040 metres, the Cox Plate is worth over $5 million in prize money, making it one of the richest horse races in Australia. The Ladbrokes Cox Plate is commonly known as the weight-for-age Championship Of Australasia with the best weight-for-age horses from Australia and New Zealand competing for the major prize. In recent times several European horses have made the field with the Irish trained Adelaide winning the 2014 version for champion trainer Adian O’Brien.

2019 Cox Plate Results

• 1st: TBD
• 2nd: TBD
• 3rd: TBD

The Cox Plate was named after William Samuel Cox, who founded the Moonee Valley racecourse. The race is positioned in between two of Australia’s other biggest race meets, the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup. The winner of the Cox Plate gains automatic entry into the Melbourne Cup that year, without being subjected to the balloting system.

Known as ‘the greatest two minutes in sport’ by many horse racing enthusiasts, it is rated by many as the truest test of a horses racing ability in Australia. The Cox Plate was named in 1999 as part of the global ‘grand prix’ of horse racing in the ‘Emirates World Series Racing Championship’. It is the only race from the southern hemisphere to make this list.

The Cox Plate had become one of the most sought after titles in horse racing, receiving almost 200 nominations each year.

The Cox Plate was first run in 1922 when it was won by Violoncello . Many famous horses have won the Cox Plate twice throughout its history, including Phar Lap, Sunline and Northerly. Kingston Town won the Cox Plate three years in a row in 1980, 1981 and 1982. However, only Rising Fast in 1954 was ever able to win the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in the same year. Other notable winners were Makybe Diva in 2005 and So You Think in 2010. Phar Lap holds the record for shortest favourite at $1.07 in 1931. The Chris Waller trained Winx added the 2015 Cox Plate to her impressive winning list with a runaway four and three quarter lengths win. Winx would go on to also make Cox Plate history as the race’s only four-time champion with successive victories from 2015-18 before retiring from racing.

Cox Plate Field

The Cox Plate field is always made up of the very best contingent of horses found in Australia and New Zealand and recently also top line European weight-for-age performers.  It is the strongest all round group of horses in the strongest all round race on the Australian racing calendar. The Cox Plate runs with a final field of 14 horses with 4 emergencies also on standby should anything go wrong.

Given that it is the premier weight for age race in Australia there is certainly no room for pretenders with each horse given an equal opportunity. The tight turning Moonee Valley circuit makes the start crucial as getting caught at the back could spell disaster even over a 2040m journey. If you were to pick only one race to watch all year then for many the Cox Plate would be it as you’re guaranteed to see the very best thoroughbred talent Australia has to offer.

2019 Cox Plate Field

Nominations for the 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate field are now out with 187 early entries for the $5 million race at The Valley.

The official Cox Plate 2019 field will be announced on Tuesday October 22, 2019 following three stages of declarations.

The 2019 Cox Plate nominations were led by classy Tasmanian-trained mare Mystic Journey who will lead the local contingent looking to hold the 27 international entries at bay.

The Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 First Acceptances have been released with 102 hopefuls including Mystic Journey and 17 internationally-trained raiders.

The 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate Second Acceptances are now out with 68 runners remaining including 10 internationals and the early favourite in betting, Godolphin’s George Main Stakes winner last time out Avilius.

The Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 Third Acceptances have been announced leaving just 35 potential runners led by Japan’s Lys Gracieux. See below for the full 2019 Cox Plate Third Acceptances.

Cox Plate Form Guide

The brilliant thing about reading into the Cox Plate form guide is that every lead up event is relevant. Such are the conditions of the race that pure class and form are the only things that will determine the winner on the day. That means that whichever event a horse has run in previously all the punter is looking for is whether or not it’s better than the opposition on an equal basis.

Forget barriers and weight and all the other scenarios, the winner of the Cox Plate is simply the best horse on the day. One race that is often used as a lead up is the Ladbrokes Caulfield Stakes run two weeks earlier. It itself is a Group 1 contest which makes it a very accurate gauge. It’s no good scraping into the field after plugging away in the lower grades, more often than not the horse needs to be already proven at the top level because the Cox Plate is a step up again. The winners of the Australian Cup, The AJC Australian Derby, the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes, Caulfield Guineas and the Ladbrokes Caulfield Stakes are exempt from the ballot for the Cox Plate.

Cox Plate Betting

As can be imagined Cox Plate Betting makes up one of the biggest days for bookmakers right around the country. Such is the level of interest in it that only the Melbourne Cup exceeds it for regular national turnover. The conditions of the event mean punters can bet with confidence and know that their horse should be given every chance if good enough.

One of the best things for punters who like to bet on the Cox Plate is that betting agencies will regularly try to outdo each other in order to grab a greater piece of the pie. They know just how lucrative the day can be so if you play your cards right you can get plenty more for your dollar. Follow the market trends in the Cox Plate because more often than not you’ll see a clear movement of money towards a particular those. Sometimes it can be obvious with a short priced favourite but other times it can come in the form of a late move for a runner at slightly longer odds.

Cox Plate Odds

If you’re interested in following the market pools and horse fluctuations then the Cox Plate Odds are some of the most interesting around. Given how much money is invested there can be plenty of movement from the opening price through to when the race actually begins. There can also be quite sizeable variations in the odds from one bookmaker to another depending on how much they’ve had invested on the various options.

The Cox Plate is a race for champions and as such punters generally have a fairly good idea of who they want to back before they even see the odds. This has created plenty of big favourites over the years and true to form they often get up. In fact over the history of the event nearly half of all horses which began as favourite have ended up winning the event. It gets even better for horses who start as odd’s on with more than 70 percent going on to become Cox Plate champion.

Cox Plate Tips

It’s a race for the purists so you can bet every punter worth there salt has their own sure things’ when it comes to Cox Plate Tips. The field is always so strong so you’ll find someone arguing a case for just about every runner in the stalls. This can make things dangerous when you look to place your bets as it can be tough to separate the good knowledge from the bad knowledge as you weigh up the options. Cox Plate Tips are readily available on many websites including Ladbrokes.com.au.

Cox Plate Day

Cox Plate Day is the Moonee Valley Race Club biggest race day of the year and they have a huge responsibility putting on one of the most anticipated meetings of the calendar. They know just how important the day is for both their image as well as the broader image of Australian racing and it’s always a marvellous event.

It’s not just the Cox Plate that attracts people either, in fact there are seven Group rated events on the card. In addition to the Group one there are the Group 2 Moonee Valley Fillies Classic, Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup, Group 2 Crystal Mile, Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase as well as the Group 3 Tesio Stakes and Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes.

Also on track away from the horses there are live music events, fashions on the field, corporate opportunities and a wealth of other entertainment.

Every year, thousand flock to Moonee Valley Racecourse for all that Cox Plate Day has to offer, and they are rarely disappointed.

Cox Plate Results

The full Cox Plate Results will be published below once the race is run.

The greatest Cox Plate champion ever is without a doubt Kingston Town. He won the race three times on the trot from 1980 to 1982, the only horse to ever to win three in a row before champion mare Winx surpassed him with a record four straight Cox Plate victories from 2015-18.

There was also another mare that almost joined Kingston Town on three Cox Plate trophies, the great Sunline falling agonisingly short. She won the event in 1999 and 2000 but could only manage second in his third attempt in 2001. The horse that beat her on that day was Northerly, he won it again in 2002 as well.

There are far too many to mention but the likes of Octagonal in 1995, Saintly in 1996 and Might And Power in 1998. Cast your mind back even further and you see Bonecrusher in 1986, Gunsynd in 1972 and all the way back to the immortal Phar Lap in 1930 and 1931.

Cox Plate winners and Cox Plate results, along with winning times and placings since the year 2000 are listed below.