1868 Melbourne Cup
| Melbourne Cup | |
| Location | Flemington Racecourse |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 November 1868 |
| Distance | 2 miles |
| Winning horse | Glencoe |
| Winning time | 3:42.00 |
| Final odds | 10/1 |
| Jockey | Charles Stanley |
| Trainer | John Tait |
| Owner | John Tait |
| Surface | Turf |
| Attendance | 25,000 |
The 1868 Melbourne Cup was a two-mile handicap horse race which took place on Thursday, 5 November 1868.
This year was the eighth running of the Melbourne Cup.
Following nominations, 32 runners declared for the race, but there were a number of scratching on race day which saw the field reduced to 24 horses. Previous year's winner Sydney Tim Whiffler was brought back by owner/trainer Etienne de Mestre and would start the race as favourite ahead of Little Fish and Ragpicker. Barwon, racing in their fifth Melbourne Cup race led the field past the grandstand to the first turn followed by stablemate Shenandoah and Little Fish. Extending their lead down the back straight, Barwon set the pace before being overtaken by Shenandoah who was joined at the front by Glencoe. At the final turn, Glencoe looked to have the race under control until a late gallop by Strop saw the final margin of victory at one length. Shenandoah came in third ahead of Tim Whiffler and Smolensko.
Glencoe's win was John Tait's second Melbourne Cup win after his horse The Barb won in 1866. It was the third year in a row that a Sydney-trained horse had won the race.