Free Printable • A4 PDF

Melbourne Cup Sweep Template 2026

A printable office sweep sheet and 24 cut-out tickets. Print it, cut it, draw from a hat and write the names in.

Blank by number until the field is declared on Saturday 31 October. Race day: Tuesday 3 November 2026.

Download the PDF Open and print
Melbourne Cup sweep template 2026: printable A4 master sheet with 24 numbered rows, prize boxes and paid column

What's in the Template

  • Page 1: master sheet. 24 numbered rows for the horse, barrier and each person's name, plus a paid box and a place column for race day.
  • Rules box. Spaces for the entry price, total collected and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and last prizes, and tick boxes for your scratched horse rule.
  • Page 2: cut-out tickets. 24 numbered tickets to cut up, fold and draw from a hat or bowl.
  • QR code. Scan it to run the same sweep online with our free generator.

Skip the scissors

The online sweep generator does the draw, tracks who's paid, handles scratchings and prints a filled-in sheet.

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How To Run a Paper Melbourne Cup Sweep

  1. 1

    Print both pages

    Print the PDF on A4. Pin the master sheet up and cut page 2 into 24 tickets along the dotted lines.

  2. 2

    Fill in the rules box

    Write the entry price and the prizes, and tick your scratched horse rule. Do this before anyone draws so there are no arguments on race day.

  3. 3

    Collect the money and draw

    Fold the tickets into a hat or bowl. Each person pays, draws a ticket and writes their name on it. Copy each name onto the master sheet and tick the paid box.

  4. 4

    Check scratchings on race morning

    Scratchings close on the morning of the race. Cross out any scratched horse and apply the rule you ticked: refund, or all-in.

  5. 5

    Pay out after the race

    Write 1st, 2nd, 3rd and last in the place column and hand over the prizes. Every dollar collected goes back out.

Sweep Rules To Write on the Sheet

In Victoria, the gambling regulator (VGCCC) treats a Melbourne Cup sweep as a lottery. The organiser can't keep any money for costs, all of it goes back out as prizes, and total prizes can't be more than $5,000. You choose which places win and whether a scratched horse means a refund or is all-in, as long as everyone is told before the draw.

Other states and territories have their own rules, so check with your local regulator before running a big sweep or a fundraiser.

Sweep Template FAQs

Does the template include the 2026 horses?
Not yet. The final field is declared on Saturday 31 October, and we update the PDF with the horse names and barriers soon after. Until then the sheet works by saddlecloth number: write the horse names in, or leave them blank and match the numbers on race day.
How many people can play?
The sheet has 24 lines and 24 tickets, one for each horse in a full Melbourne Cup field. For fewer people, hand out the leftover horses or leave them unsold. For more than 24, print a second copy and run Sweep A and Sweep B, each with its own prize pool.
What do I do about scratched horses?
Tick one of the two boxes on the sheet before the draw. Refund and adjust prizes gives that person their money back and shrinks the pool. All-in means no refund. In Victoria the regulator accepts either, as long as everyone knows which one you are using.
How should we split the prize money?
The most common split is 60% for 1st, 25% for 2nd, 10% for 3rd and 5% for last. With 24 people at $5 that is $72, $30, $12 and $6. Whatever split you pick, every dollar collected goes back out as prizes.
Can I run the sweep online instead?
Yes. Our free Melbourne Cup sweep generator does the draw, tracks who has paid, handles scratchings and works out the payouts. It can print a filled-in version of this sheet with cut-out tickets.
Keep the Cup fun. If gambling stops being fun for you or someone you know, free and confidential support is available 24/7 from Gambling Help Online or on 1800 858 858.

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