Race favourite Marmelo came in at $7, prompting one punter to place a massive $30,000 on the English-born horse to take the Cup. Marmelo finished a disappointing ninth.
A last-minute plunge saw 2016 winner Almandin drop from $9 to $7 in the waning minutes before approaching the start line.
Here are all the biggest bets from a massive day of betting on the race that stopped the nation.
'I'M IN SHOCK': LUCKY WINNER SNAGS $1 MILLION
A TAB customer scored the most improbable win of Melbourne Cup day after he turned a $5 punt into seven figures.
The man, who only wanted to be known as Dominic, from Mill Park in Victoria, entered a promotion which saw any TAB account customers who placed a bet on races 1 to 4 at Flemington entered into a draw.
After becoming the lucky customer to have his name drawn, Dominic was asked to pick the winner of the Melbourne Cup. If his selection won, he'd win $1 million.
Dominic selected Rekindling and sat back at home to watch his dream unfold.
"I started the day working so I never could have imagined this," he said. "I was laying on the couch about to have a few bets when I got the call that I won the draw. I was actually home alone so I had to call a few mates who rushed over to watch with me."
Dominic's entered the draw with a $5 each way bet on Land of Plenty in race three, which ran second. He said it was hard to describe his emotions after securing the life-changing
haul.
"I was just numb. It's a surreal feeling and I'm still in shock ... I never could have imagined this," he said.
PUNTER LANDS $150,000
One lucky punter has come away with $151,255 from a $50 boxed trifecta
Another punter with the online bookmaker placed a $33 boxed trifecta for a return of $100,433.
One punter actually picked the trifecta straight up, placing $20 to win $60,502.
The victor Rekindling immediately shot to the $21 favourite for 2018's race.
"Hats off to those punters, Rekindling was an unlikely hero but no doubt they'll celebrate their wins for a long time to come," sportsbet.com.au's Will Byrne said.
NOTABLE BETS ON REKINDLING
- $3,000 at $16 [to collect $48,000]
- $2,500 at $17 [to collect $42,500]
- $2,000 at $16 [to collect $32,000]
- $2,000 at $15 [to collect $30,000]
- $1,550 at $16 [to collect $24,800]
- $1,500 at $15 [to collect $22,500]
- $1,500 at $13 [to collect $19,500]
- $1,500 at $12 [to collect $18,000]
- $500 at $51 [to collect $25,500]
- $350 at $51 [to collect $17,850]
TAB'S BIGGEST FLOPS
Johannes Vermeer - $10,000 at $11
Wall Of Fire - $3,000 x $1,000 each way at $12/$4.25
Humidor - $2,000 each way at $11/$4
Almandin - $10,000 x $5,000 at $9/$3.15, $2,000 at $9, $3,000 at $9, $5,500 at $8.50, $4,000 at $8.50
Marmelo - $10,000 at $7.50
Big Duke - $1,000 each way at $21/$5.90 + $1,000 each way at $21/$6.35
Gallante - $2,000 at $71
Max Dynamite - $10,000 at $17
Libran - $5,000 at $61
