The 2021 Melbourne Cup (known commercially as the 2021 Lexus Melbourne Cup) was the 161st running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 2 November 2021 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse. The final field for the race was declared on 30 October 2021. The total prize money for the race was A$8 million, the same as the previous year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the public crowd was limited to 10,000 vaccinated attendees. Also, all horses are required fully CT scan to permit run the Melbourne Cup.