Fresh off of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup, we’ve got another big day of racing coming up on Monday, Nov. 3. This time around, we’ll head to Australia for “the race that stops a nation.”

It’s the Lexus Melbourne Cup, which goes as the seventh race at Flemington. Post time is 11 p.m. ET, and this two-mile event has drawn a power-packed field of 24 runners competing for a purse of $6.6 million ($10 million Australian). We’ll take a look at a few of them here and offer our top pick!

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Buckaroo the 2025 Melbourne Cup favorite

We don’t have to go too far to find the morning-line favorite. That’s #2 BUCKAROO, who’s listed at 3-1 ahead of Monday’s main event. This 6-year-old gelding stretches out to two miles for this event, and he’s a familiar face in Group 1 action. Most recently, he was beaten just a nose in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate, another one of Australia’s biggest races.

Trainer Chris Waller sends this one out (as well as four other runners). One of Australia’s powerhouse conditioners, Waller is best known as the trainer of Winx, and he’s won this race once before (with Verry Elleegant in 2021). However, while the talent level of this one must be respected, the distance is a genuine question mark. He was a distant ninth in this race a season ago.

If not Buckaroo, then who?

Another top contender stretching out in distance is #14 HALF YOURS, who most recently won the Group 1 Sportsbet Caulfield Cup just a few weeks ago. He’ll do his best running late, and there should be plenty of pace for him to chase. Several Caul Cup runners have been entered here. Runner-up #21 RIVER OF STARS and third-place finisher #24 VALIANT KING, among others, will look to turn the tables.

Al Riffa wins 2025 Irish St. Leger (Eclipse Sportswire)

Among the international shippers is #1 AL RIFFA, this year’s 130-pound highweight. The Joseph O’Brien trainee exits back-to-back victories at The Curragh in Ireland, including a four-length romp in the Group 1 Irish St. Leger in September. Three starts ago, he was second at Royal Ascot behind the great Rebel’s Romance, who ran second in Saturday’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf in his bid for a third victory in that race.

Speaking of the Turf, trainer Willie Mullins pulled off a shocker in that race with Ethical Diamond, and he’s got a chance in the Melbourne Cup. He’ll saddle #9 ABSURDE, who gets in pretty light at just 118 pounds. He gets a rider switch to Kerrin McEvoy (a three-time winner of this race), and at a minimum, the distance shouldn’t be what beats him.

Finally, there’s a U.S. presence in this year’s renewal. #18 PARCHMENT PARTY comes from the Bill Mott barn. He qualified for the Melbourne Cup with a two-back score in an off-the-turf renewal of the Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup at Saratoga. He followed that up with another win in the Birdstone STakes (also going long on dirt at the Spa). In addition, Kentucky Downs enthusiasts may recognize #10 FLATTEN THE CURVE, who most recently annexed that course’s Mountain Dew Bowling Green Gold Cup Invitational going 2 1/16 miles. He runs for German trainer Henk Grewe.

2025 Melbourne Cup selections

I don’t want any part of Buckaroo at his likely short price. He’s better going shorter than this distance, and while it’s possible he runs well, others interest me more.

Al Riffa has a big weight impost to consider, but his recent races are very, very good. He stretches out a quarter-mile, but that’s not as much as Buckaroo, so I’m not quite as opposed. Joseph O’Brien has won this race twice before, and I think he’s got the one to beat this year at Flemington.

I’ll also use Half Yours as well, because the Caul Cup seems like a live race. Finally, ignoring Willie Mullins seems like a mistake after what happened on Saturday at Del Mar, so I’ll give a look to Absurde.