Champagne on tap, seafood buffets, and a real day at the races. Love it or loathe it, the Melbourne Cup is coming, and the North Coast is ready to party from the Tweed to Port Macquarie.
The race that stops a nation runs on Tuesday, 3 November. Whether you’ve studied the form for weeks or plan to pick the horse with the prettiest silks, here’s where to be.
Tweed and Kingscliff
Want the real thing? The Tweed River Jockey Club is running Chandon The Big Dance at 185 Racecourse Road, Tygalgah, from 10.30am to 6pm. There’s a five-race program, the Melbourne Cup and The Big Dance on the big screen, TAB and bookmaker facilities, a trackside bar and bistro, and a range of hospitality packages.
Entry is $20 online or $25 at the gate, and under-18s get in free.
Seafood lovers, look no further than Cudgen Headland SLSC at 61 Marine Parade, Kingscliff. From 11.45am to 7pm, it’s serving up a lavish seafood buffet, a decadent dessert bar, and three hours of flowing Champagne. Throw in live music and Fashions on the Field, and you may forget there’s a race on at all.
Ballina and surrounds
Ballina is going big. Very big.
Ballina RSL’s Melbourne Cup Spring Fling runs from 1pm to 6pm in the auditorium at 1 Grant Street, hosted by MC Peter Sinclair. Expect bubbles on arrival, house-made hot and cold canapes, live race coverage, sweeps, live music, and Fashions on the Field with a pink theme. There’s also a Calcutta-style auction and $500 in hamper lucky door prizes.
Tickets are $70 for members and $85 for non-members. Pink Zinc with Sarah Grant plays the after-party, with after-party-only tickets for $10.
Over in East Ballina, Shaws Bay Hotel is hosting Melbourne Cup by the Bay from 12pm. Pick between a three-course lunch with a three-hour beverage package in The Pavilion, or canapes and a three-hour beverage package in the Courtyard. Both come with best-dressed prizes, sweeps, and TAB facilities.
Two clubs are offering $75 three-course lunches. Club Lennox Sports in Lennox Head has sparkling wine on arrival and the racing live from Flemington, with bookings through club reception. Dress to impress.
Cherry Street Sports Club in Ballina is serving an alternate-serve menu with dishes such as seared scallops, crispy-skin barramundi, and chargrilled scotch fillet, plus vegan options.
Plateau Bowls & Sports is putting on a fundraiser for the Ballina Hospital Auxiliary from 11.30am. For $55, you get grazing platters, a complimentary glass of bubbles, live racing, music by Milo Green, Fashions on the Field, raffles, sweeps, and a photo booth. Tables are for eight, and bookings are essential on 02 6628 0497.
Can’t wait until Tuesday? The Federal Hotel in Alstonville is bringing back its Melbourne Cup Calcutta on Sunday, 1 November, from 12pm. Buy a horse, back a horse, or round up a syndicate and enjoy the build-up.
Yamba
Yamba Cinema is mixing the movies with the Melbourne Cup. Its Melbourne Cup Movie and Lunch Celebration starts with Devonshire morning tea at 10am, followed by a movie, a glass of bubbles, and a two-course lunch.
Then it’s sweeps, live music from the Spooky Uke group, and the Cup on the cinema’s huge screen. Dress to impress and you could be sashed Filly or Stallion of the Day. Tickets are $58 per person, and only a few seats are left. Bookings on 02 6646 3430.
Coffs Harbour and Sawtell
Sawtell Hotel at 51–55 First Avenue is laying on the full race-day treatment from 11am to 5.30pm. For $125 a head, there’s a three-course set menu, Champagne on arrival, and a drinks package. Add sweeps, a lucky door prize, a best-dressed competition, and live music from Who’s Charlie after the race. A courtesy bus will be running. Bookings on 02 6653 1213.
At Toormina Hotel, 1 Minorca Place, Cup Day lunch comes with a little something extra from 12pm to 3pm. Samuel Smith & Son representative John Webeck will lead guided wine tastings, and The Salty Cow’s Mark Rheinbay will run cheese tastings. Charcuterie boards, a drinks package, sweep tickets, and live entertainment after the race round out the afternoon. Bookings on 02 6653 1039.
Nambucca
Nambucca RSL is going bright this year, with a Spring Colours theme. Think floral dresses, colourful fascinators, and bold splashes of springtime style.
The Hitmen play live and free, and there will be bistro specials, prizes, TAB facilities, sweeps, and all the racing action. Entry is free, but tables are filling fast.
“Last year we reached capacity, so get in early and secure your spot!” the club wrote.
Book your table on 02 6568 6288.
Kempsey
Kempsey Macleay RSL Club is serving up sweeps, best-dressed prizes, and chef’s specials for Cup Day. Happy hour runs from 3pm to 5pm, timed nicely with the main race coverage from 3pm. Dress to impress.
Port Macquarie
Panthers Port Macquarie at 1 Bay Street is going all day. There will be live race coverage on the big screens, chef’s specials in The Kove Kitchen, sweeps, TAB facilities, and prizes for Best Dressed and Best Fascinator.
Once the dust settles, Brock Colley plays live in The TAPP from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Bookings through club reception.
Not a fan of horse racing?
For those who would rather hug a horse than back one, The Owl & The PussyCat Farm Animal Sanctuary at Crabbes Creek is holding its Nup to the Cup Fundraiser. Thanks to the wild weather, it has moved to Sunday, 8 November, from 3pm to 5.30pm.
Pack a picnic blanket for afternoon tea with cakes, savoury bites, and cool drinks. Guests can meet the rescue herd, hear their rescue stories, and spend time with the sanctuary’s other residents. There is also a Crystal Bowl Sound Bath to remember horses that have died in the racing industry.
“This is our ethical alternative to the Melbourne Cup and the Spring Racing Carnival,” the sanctuary wrote.
Every ticket helps feed and care for its nearly 90 rescued animals. Tickets are at https://events.humanitix.com/nup-to-the-cup-at-the-sanctuary-2026.
Where’s the party?
Just because your home town ins’t listed doesn’t mean something isn’t happening. Plenty of Cup Day lunches and sweeps live on a chalkboard out the front of the local pub.
Running a Melbourne Cup event in your town? Let us know. And whatever happens at Flemington, may your fascinator survive the afternoon.
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