A Celebration of Champions and Racing Excellence.
On Saturday, 8th November 2025, TAB Champions Stakes Day concludes the Melbourne Cup Carnival in spectacular style at Flemington Racecourse. This day is a celebration of the very best in horse racing, where elite thoroughbreds compete in a thrilling showcase of power, speed, and skill. TAB Champions Stakes Day is the perfect finale, offering a unique blend of world-class racing and an electric atmosphere that brings the Carnival to a triumphant close.
At the heart of the day are three Group 1 races, featuring some of the finest horses in the world. The day’s program also includes the Champions Sprint and the VRC Champions Mile, making it a showcase of racing excellence across multiple distances. With its vibrant energy, exceptional hospitality, and captivating trackside action, TAB Champions Stakes Day is an unmissable event for racing enthusiasts and casual spectators alike.
Whether you’re savouring gourmet dining, cheering from the grandstands, or experiencing the thrill of the finish line, TAB Champions Stakes Day 2025 offers something for everyone. Register your interest now to secure your place at this spectacular event and be part of the excitement, tradition, and unforgettable moments that define TAB Champions Stakes Day.
Saturday 8 November, 2024
Feature races
Group 1 TAB Champions Stakes (2000m)
Group 1 VRC Champions Mile (1600m)
Group 1 VRC Champions Sprint (1200m)
General Ticketing
Flemington Pass (General Admission)
Adults $65pp
Get in early and gear up for another unforgettable week of racing, fashion, food and fun with your friends!
Saturday Flemington Pass
Adults $110pp
Join us for two super Saturdays across Victoria Derby Day and TAB Champions Stakes Day!
Four Day Flemington Pass
Adults $250pp
One ticket, four unforgettable days at the 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival!
Hill Stand Reserved Seat
From $79pp
Secure your seat with prime views of the racing action, Winning Post, and the colour of The Front Lawn.
Club Lawn Reserved
From $180pp
Trackside luxury at your own table of six. A Club Lawn Reserved table has it all - up close racing action, drinks on arrival and the inimitable atmosphere.
Mates Rates
$150pp*
Cup Week is best spent with mates. Book a Mates Rates table of 6 on the Front Lawn and settle in for a smashing day of racing and socialising.
Hospitality & Dining Packages
ON SALE SOON
TAB Clubhouse
$375pp
Introducing the TAB Clubhouse, a brand-new experience located in the Infield across from the Winning Post, designed for racing fans to be up close to all of the action.
Kirin Ichiban Pavilion
$495pp
Welcome to Flemington’s Party Central - Kirin Ichiban Pavilion. Settle in for a day of unparalleled racing excitement and an all-inclusive food and drinks package.
Parade Lounge
$670pp
Enjoy this all-inclusive offering with views over the Parade Ring to watch the Cup Week hopefuls ahead of each race.
Skyline Lounge
$535pp
Indulge in an elevated experience at the Skyline Lounge in the Hill Stand, where you and your guests can graze all day while enjoying breathtaking views.
The Rose Room
$595pp
Experience timeless celebrations in the ever popular Rose Room, where cherished memories flourish.
Skyline Dining
$595pp
Indulge in a world where the unbridled thrill of the Melbourne Cup Carnival and exquisite cuisine takes centre stage - this is Skyline Dining.
Makybe Diva® Marquee
$495pp
Enjoy an all-inclusive plated table service in a beautiful marquee with outdoor courtyard offering premium views of the racing action.
Terrace Restaurant
$725pp
Sweeping vistas frame this spectacular dining room, delivering unforgettable race day memories in a refined and elegant space.
Prizemoney: $3,000,000
Weight-For-Age. Apprentices cannot claim.
Registered name: L.K.S Mackinnon Stakes
157th of Series
Race History
LKS MACKINNON (1861–1935)
Lauchlan Kenneth Scobie Mackinnon (1861–1935) was one of the most influential chairmen of the Victoria Racing Club in its long history, a committeeman for 26 years from 1909 and Chairman from 1916 until his death, guiding its fortunes as the principal club in Victoria. A solicitor by profession, he bred and raced thoroughbreds, at different times owning Maribyrnong Stud and Chatsworth Park. Kingsburgh won the 1914 Melbourne Cup for him. Woorak won the Epsom at Randwick and became a top Australian stallion. Mackinnon’s conservative views, especially about women in racing, were not universally shared but Victorian racing flourished. The Melbourne Stakes, created in 1869 as a traditional weight-for-age Derby Day lead-up to the Cup, became the Mackinnon in his honour from 1939. In 2016 the race was repositioned as the 2000 metre champion race for the final day of the Carnival.
Prizemoney: $3,000,000
Weight-For-Age. Apprentices cannot claim.
Registered name: Cantala Stakes
107th of Series
Race History
CANTALA STAKES
The original Cantala was not a racehorse, but a mansion that until demolished in 1939 occupied five hectares on Dandenong Road near Kooyong Road, Caulfield. It belonged to Septimus Miller, VRC Chairman 1895–1906. In 1919 the VRC Committee renamed the Coburg Stakes the Cantala in his honour. Miller provided a gold trophy to the first winner. In recent decades the Cantala was the feature mile on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival under various sponsorships – George Adams, Ampol, Nisson, Honda, Chrysler, Emirates. From 2016 to 2021 it shifted to Victoria Derby Day as the Kennedy Mile. Now it returns to the final Saturday as the VRC Kennedy Champions Mile.
Prizemoney: $3,000,000
Weight-For-Age. Apprentices cannot claim.
Registered name: Victoria Racing Club Stakes
66th of Series
Prizemoney: $300,000
Mares Set Weights plus Penalties. Apprentices cannot claim.
40th of Series
Race History
MATRIARCH STAKES
A 2000 metre race for mares has long been part of the card for the fourth and final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The race name Matriarch Stakes was first applied in 1995, and the Kilmore and Ballarat Cup winner Magical Storm was victorious. The race name was inspired by the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes, a mile race for mares on the turf in the USA, first run at Hollywood Park in 1981 and later at Del Mar Racetrack, California. Among the best winners of the VRC Matriarch Stakes has been multiple Group 1 winner Lucia Valentina, successful in 2015 before winning the AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick the following year.
Prizemoney: $300,000
Quality Handicap. Apprentices cannot claim.
Registered name: VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes
47th of Series
Prizemoney: $175,000
Open Handicap. Apprentices cannot claim.
Race History
ALWAYS WELCOME (Seventh Hussar (FR) - Welcome Back)
Always Welcome, an Australian-bred son of Seventh Hussar, was foaled in 1973, a consistent stakes-winning sprinter whose six Group level victories included the VRC Linlithgow Stakes and Coolmore Stud Stakes (at that time the Craven A Stakes) at Flemington, the Caulfield Futurity (beating So Called) and the Randwick All-Aged Stakes. Twice runner-up in the VRC Newmarket, and second in the Epsom, the Doncaster and the Epsom at Randwick, Always Welcome had the misfortune of competing against such champions as Maybe Mahal, Luskin Star and Manikato. He was trained by Bernie Byrnes from the old Big Stable at Inglis' Newmarket property at Randwick.
Prizemoney: $500,000
2YO Handicap. Apprentices cannot claim.
Restricted 2YO horses nominated in the Inglis Race Series + $200k Pink Bonus to the first eligible horse past the post.
Prizemoney: $150,000
4YO & Upwards Benchmark 90 Handicap. Apprentices cannot claim.
Prizemoney: $150,000
Benchmark 80 Grand Handicap. Apprentices can claim.
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