The Cox Plate

The Cox Plate is a group one thoroughbred flat race run annually during the Moonee Valley Carnival, one of the highlights of Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival. The Cox Plate is considered to be the stayers’ weight-for-age championship for Australia and New Zealand, and attracts the finest thoroughbreds from the region.

The Cox Plate is run over a distance of 2040 metres at the Moonee Valley Racing Club on a turf racetrack, and is open to 3 year old and above thoroughbred racehorses. The race is so highly rated that it has been included in the Emirates World Series Racing Championship, a selection of the most prestigious group one races from around the world.

Named after Australian thoroughbred racing pioneer, William Samuel Cox, the Cox Plate was first run in 1922, when it was won by the English raider, Violoncello. Even during the early stages of its history, the Cox Plate drew world class fields, and showcased the talents of a succession of truly great thoroughbreds, including Phar Lap, Tulloch and Flight.

During its history the Cox Plate has been run over several different distances. The race was originally held over a distance of 9½ furlongs, before being extended to 10 furlongs in 1943. The race distance changed again in 1972 with Australia’s conversion to the metric system, before the present race distance of 2040 metres was instituted in 1974.

Cox Plate Betting

The Cox Plate is one of the biggest thoroughbred racing betting events of the year in Australia. The race often features runners who are entered into the Melbourne Cup, and is used to gauge their form for that race.

As a weight-for-age handicap, starting position is often as important as weight in the Cox Plate. Betting markets are often fairly accurate in predicting entries’ performances in the Cox Plate, with the ante-post favourite having won the race around 30% of the time in recent years.

Cox Plate Winners

The list of Cox Plate Winners reads like a who’s who of the greatest thoroughbreds in the history of Australasian racing. The legendary Phar Lap won the race twice in the 1930s, Kingston Town set the record for consecutive victories in the Cox Plate with a hat-trick in the early 1980s, and Makybe Diva, the greatest mare in the history of Australian racing, took the title in 2005.