Melbourne Cup 2026 Winner: Ciaron Maher Trains the First 3 Home, a First in 166 Years
Updated on November 3, 2026.
The Melbourne Cup 2026 winner is Point Of Law, who ran down the leaders at Flemington on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to win the 166th running of the 3,200-meter race. Ethan Brown rode the favorite to his first Cup win, and trainer Ciaron Maher also had the second and third horses, Zahrann and Juja Kibo, a first in the race’s history.
Quick summary
- Point Of Law won the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, at Flemington, in only his sixth career start.
- Jockey Ethan Brown won his first Cup after coming back from a near-fatal fall in the 2023 Australian Guineas.
- Ciaron Maher trained the first three home: Point Of Law, Zahrann and Juja Kibo. No trainer had done that in 166 years.
- Point Of Law is the fourth horse to win the Geelong Cup and the Melbourne Cup in the same year, according to ABC News.
- Asterix was scratched on race day after stewards found a medication had been applied to his forelegs.
Who won the Melbourne Cup 2026?
Point Of Law won the 2026 Melbourne Cup, the race’s 166th running, at Flemington on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The race started at 3 p.m. AEDT on a track rated Soft 5, according to ABC News.
Point Of Law firmed into favoritism just before the start, taking over from Hopewell Rock, which had begun the day as the favorite, ABC News reported. He carried 53kg after the 2kg penalty for his Geelong Cup win, which we covered in our story on Point Of Law’s Melbourne Cup weight.
The race played out in an unusual way. Royal Supremacy, another Maher runner, led by about 20 lengths midway through the race, according to ESPN. Point Of Law reeled him in on the inside and pulled clear in the final 100 meters. ESPN put the crowd at more than 90,000.
“He had the best turn of foot in the race and I rode him for that, and the rest is history,” Brown told Channel 9, as quoted by ESPN.
Melbourne Cup results 2026: the top 4
Twenty-three horses ran after the race-day scratching of Asterix. We followed the earlier changes, including the vet checks, in our Melbourne Cup field 2026 story.
| Place | Horse | Trainer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Of Law | Ciaron Maher |
| 2 | Zahrann | Ciaron Maher |
| 3 | Juja Kibo | Ciaron Maher |
| 4 | Sons And Lovers | Joseph O'Brien |
Sources: ABC News, ESPN and Stuff. Some outlets spell the second and third horses “Zahraan” and “Juju Kibo.”
Has a trainer ever won the Melbourne Cup trifecta before?
No. Ciaron Maher is the first trainer in the Melbourne Cup’s 166-year history to fill the first three places, according to both ABC News and ESPN. He had seven runners in the race.
It is Maher’s second Melbourne Cup win, ESPN reported. ABC News quoted him as “very proud of all the team.”
Point Of Law also joined a short list. He won the Geelong Cup on Oct. 21 and is now the fourth horse to complete the Geelong Cup and Melbourne Cup double, after Media Puzzle in 2002, Americain in 2010 and Dunaden in 2011, according to ABC News.
From King Charles to Flemington
Point Of Law was bred in England by King Charles III, ESPN reported, and won the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket before he was sold to an Australian group that includes Maher’s stable, according to ABC News. ABC News lists the owners as Deg Racing, A R E Investments, Symphony Racing 3, Chris Judd and Ciaron Maher Racing.
Why was Asterix scratched?
Stewards scratched the Chris Waller-trained Asterix on race day after finding that the medication Penetrene had been applied to his forelegs. Waller called it “a very simple mistake,” and chief steward Rob Montgomery described it as “an honest mistake,” according to ABC News.
What it means for punters in Australia
If you had a bet on the Cup, your bookmaker settles it on the official result. Betting online on sport and racing is legal in Australia only with a bookmaker licensed by an Australian state or territory, and you can check any operator on the ACMA register. Credit cards and crypto can’t fund online betting accounts, a rule in place since June 11, 2024. In-play sport betting online is banned. In New South Wales, betting online on Australian races with an unlicensed bookmaker is an offense for the bettor too. If betting stops being fun, BetStop lets you exclude yourself from every licensed online bookmaker.
Poker works under different rules. The Interactive Gambling Act bans sites from offering online poker to Australians, but players aren’t penalized. Ignition is one of the international rooms that accept Australians, and like the others it is not licensed in Australia. Read our guide to online poker in Australia before you sign up anywhere.
If you open your account through the button in our Ignition Poker review and message us on Telegram, you get 40% rakeback, paid monthly. You can compare it with the other rooms in our list of the best online poker sites.
This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
Get the news on Telegram
Follow our Telegram channel for poker news from Australia and around the world.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the Melbourne Cup 2026?
Point Of Law won the 166th Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, ridden by Ethan Brown and trained by Ciaron Maher.
Who came second and third in the Melbourne Cup 2026?
Zahrann finished second and Juja Kibo third, both trained by Ciaron Maher. Sons And Lovers, trained by Joseph O'Brien, was fourth.
Has a trainer ever trained the Melbourne Cup trifecta before?
No. According to ABC News and ESPN, Ciaron Maher is the first trainer in the race's 166-year history to train the first three horses home.
Why was Asterix scratched from the Melbourne Cup?
Stewards scratched Asterix on race day after finding that the medication Penetrene had been applied to his forelegs. Trainer Chris Waller called it "a very simple mistake," according to ABC News.
Sources
- ABC News: Melbourne Cup 2026, Point of Law wins Cup, Ciaron Maher trains trifecta
- ABC News: Point of Law wins Melbourne Cup to give trainer Ciaron Maher second victory
- ESPN: Point Of Law storms home to win Melbourne Cup, trainer Ciaron Maher makes history
- Stuff: Point of Law wins the 2026 Melbourne Cup
Play responsibly. 18+ only, and check the legal age where you live.
★ Add RakebackPokerWorld to your preferred sources on Google
Who writes this
The RakebackPokerWorld team: professional poker affiliates since 2017, more than 20,000 players helped. We test rooms, payments and rakeback before recommending them.
