The race that stops a nation assumes the international stage tonight as the $7.2 million Melbourne Cup is renewed for the 166th time. The 2-mile fixture at Flemington will be Race 7 on a card that gets underway at 6:45 pm ET US. The main event takes flight at 11:00 pm ET with a field of 24 international stayers. Showery forecast expected to produce soft going.

Wagering offered to US customers, including at Xpressbet and 1/ST BET includes: Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Pick 4 (Races 7-10). The favorite hasn’t won the Melbourne Cup since 2013 and last year’s winner, Half Yours, was third choice in the market.

Let’s meet the leading contenders for the Melbourne Cup:

20-POINT OF LAW (4-1): One of 7 stablemates in the lineup representing trainer Ciaran Maher, who won this race in 2022 with Gold Trip. Lightly raced son of Frankel has won 3 of 5, but yet to race above the Group 3 level and will be tested for stamina and class while the ‘now’ horse. Sold by owner/breeder King Charles of England just prior to winning the Oct. 21 Geelong Cup and was previously campaigned in the UK by John and Thady Gosden, winning the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket.

2-TRUSTYOURINSTINCT (4-1): Group 2 Curragh Cup winner exits a fourth in the classic Group 1 Irish St. Leger in September. The 6-year-old has won 9 of 25 starts. Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien twice has found success in the Melbourne Cup (Rekindling 2017 and Twilight Pavement 2020). Jockey James McDonald won this race in 2021 aboard Very Eleegant.

12-HOPEWELL ROCK (5-1): Star British trainer George Boughey has had a remarkable year with Bow Echo his stable star and last week won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint with Libertango. This UK raider was runner-up in the Ebor at York in August when last seen and has won 3 of 10, including a 1-3/4 miles handicap this summer at Goodwood. South African-born and Aussie-raised jockey Zac Lloyd has had a breakout year in 2026, winning the Golden Slipper in the Spring and getting to team with Boughey at Royal Ascot on the international stage.

1-SONS AND LOVERS (10-1): Carries top weight at 127 pounds for Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien, who seeks a third Melbourne Cup success (2017, 2020). Dylan McMonagle, who rode a pair of runners-up among 4 mounts in the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland over the weekend, will be aboard. Group 2 winner at Longchamp in July and exits a second-place effort in the Group 3 Kilternan at Leopardstown back home in Ireland in September. Sons And Lovers was fourth over the 2-mile journey at Meydan in the Dubai Gold Cup on the World Cup Day undercard.

11-JUJA KIBO (14-1): Ciaran Maher’s second-best of 7 options according to the morning line prices, this one rides a 2-race win streak in the main event. Exits wins at Randwick in the Metropolitan and over this Flemington course in the Moonee Valley, both Group 2 stakes. Known to possess a strong turn of foot late in the going. Everest Stakes-winning jockey Sam Clipperton bids for his first Melbourne Cup after a return from retirement.

4-MIDDLE EARTH (15-1): Leaves from the inside gate in the field of 24. Part of the 7-fold Ciaran Maher brigade looking to bring the barn its second Melbourne Cup glory. Mark Zahra knows Melbourne Cup riding success, guiding Gold Trip and Without A Fight to back-to-back wins in 2022-’23. Overmatched at the highest levels of late in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup and Group 1 Cox Plate in a 1-for-6 season that includes a Group 3 win at Doomben in May.

24-SHOCKLETZ (15-1): Yet another for the Ciaran Maher outfit, whose 7 runners here include 4 of the top-7 morning line choices in the betting. Jockey Harry Coffey rides just days after a surgically repaired broken collarbone. Jockey Michael Dee would be Plan B. Mare gets in extremely light at 112 pounds. Runner-up Oct. 24 in the Group 3 Tesio is a daughter of 2009 Melbourne Cup winner Shocking.