
The race that stops the nation is just around the corner. On November 3, people across Australia will tune in to watch 24 horses race to the finish line at the Flemington racecourse in Melbourne. Unfortunately not all of us get a public holiday (we’re looking at you Victoria) so, if you’re planning on hosting a Melbourne Cup party at home or in the office, then a Melbourne Cup sweep is a must! It’s the perfect accompaniment to a glass of Champagne and a perfectly catered Melbourne Cup lunch.
Want to get a sweep up and running, but don’t know where to start? We’ve answered a few FAQs to help you get it off the ground and to get ready for the big race.
A Melbourne Cup sweep is a lucky draw competition. The names of every horse racing in the Melbourne Cup will be drawn out at random by a group of people. Typically, people must pay to enter the competition and that money goes towards the prize for the first, second and third place.
There are 24 horses in the race, but you don’t need exactly 24 people to run the sweep. If you have more than 24 people, then you can double (or even triple) your sweep. If you have less than 24 people, you can simply have your punters buy more tickets.
For your average office sweep, everyone will pay between $1 - $20 for each horse that is drawn. This would give you a total prize pool of $24 - $480. The prize pool is then divided between first, second and third place winners.
If you decide to award prizes instead of cash, your budget for the gifts should match the amount you’ll receive in the prize pool. Some classic sweep prizes include a bottle of Champagne, chocolates or a gift certificate. Not the best with numbers? No worries. Download our interactive sweeps calculator to automatically work out the cash prizes.
Of course! Simply follow the same guidelines above, and invite everyone to a Zoom or Google Hangouts video chat.
If not everyone in your office is into the idea of an office sweep, it's always a great idea to have some back up things running, so everyone can still enjoy the day! Why not opt for a game of trivia or bingo instead? Check out some of EatFirst's awesome virtual event options.