Australia’s biggest and best event in horse racing is the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, which takes place in Victoria each year. The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival culminates in the $6 million Melbourne Cup at Flemington racecourse on the first Tuesday of November.

Much of the racing in Victoria takes place at the two metropolitan tracks, Caulfield racecourse and Flemington racecourse. Almost all of the spring carnival race days take place at these two tracks.

The biggest day of the year at Caulfield racecourse is Caulfield Cup Day, which takes place during October each year. Caulfield Cup Day is the final day of the Caulfield Carnival and hosts a total of six group races as part of its program. These include the Group 1 Caulfield Cup, Group 2 Caulfield Sprint, Group 2 Tristarc Stakes, Group 3 Norman Robinson Stakes, Group 3 David Jones Cup and Group 3 Moonga Stakes.

While the Caulfield Carnival is action packed, the biggest race days take place at Flemington. Flemington hosts the biggest carnival of the year, which is the four day Melbourne Cup Carnival. This includes Victoria Derby Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Crown Oaks Day and Emirates Stakes Day.

Moonee Valley Racecourse also plays a critical in the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, holding the $3 million Cox Plate each year. Other prominent Victorian tracks include Bendigo, Seymour, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Ballarat, Geelong, Sale, Mornington and Sandown.

Victoria also accommodates the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival early on in the year.