Melbourne Cup at The Exchange: race day in Hamilton

The Melbourne Cup is the one day of the year when a horse race in Melbourne stops the rest of the country, and in Newcastle, the place to catch it is The Exchange Hotel in Hamilton. The venue bills itself as the official host for every race day, and it has the hardware to back it up: the biggest privately owned screen in the Southern Hemisphere, so the race is broadcast live and loud across multiple screens rather than tucked away on a single TV.

For 2026, the main event is being held at Nonna Bizzarro, the hotel's Italian restaurant at 125 Denison Street, on Tuesday 3 November. Doors open at 11:30 am, and the ticket comes with a fixed menu that runs through antipasti, arancini, burrata, pasta, secondi and tiramisu, plus a spritz on arrival and house-made limoncello shots served throughout the day. Prices start at A$119 a head, with a A$35 cocktail package upgrade if you want to keep the glasses full. Between the courses, there are DJs spinning all day, sweepstakes to get everyone involved, and prizes for the best-dressed guests, so it's as much about the social side as the racing.

If a sit-down lunch isn't your speed, the hotel's Sports Bar, known as the Punters Club, is the more casual option. It's packed with 21 TVs and a purpose-built TAB, and on race days the public bar runs A$12 cocktails from 2 to 6 pm, which is a handy way to stretch the afternoon. The Exchange has been a Hamilton fixture for more than 145 years, and it's been doing live and loud entertainment since 1880, so it's well-practised at hosting a crowd when the big races are on.

The Cup isn't the only thing on the racing calendar here, either. The venue has been running its Spring Racing Saturdays since 19 September, with live races, limited-edition Bombay Sapphire cocktails, and live music and DJs to keep the momentum going between the major carnivals. It's part of a broader sports offering that takes in the NRL, AFL, rugby, UFC, soccer, cricket and TAB, so if you're the type who follows the form year-round, there's plenty more than one Tuesday in November to keep you busy.

For a bit of context on the race itself, the Melbourne Cup has been running since 1861, when the Victoria Turf Club — later the Victoria Racing Club — held the first race at Flemington on 7 November. It's earned the nickname 'the race that stops the nation' over the decades, and the economic ripple effect is huge, with a national impact estimated at A$700 million. Whether you're in it for the form or just the atmosphere, The Exchange has turned race day into a Newcastle tradition in its own right, and with the Cup on 3 November, it's the obvious place to settle in and watch the race play out on the biggest screen in the Southern Hemisphere.