The 1861 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 7 November 1861.
[1] This year was the first running of the Melbourne Cup.
Four were scratched on race day, leaving 17 starters.
[2] This is the list of placegetters for the 1861 Melbourne Cup.
[1][3][4] The remaining runners were as follows (given in approximate finishing order where not known).