Kiwis bet record money on Melbourne Cup with over one million bets

Cross Counter ridden by Kerrin McEvoy wins the Lexus Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse. Photo / Getty

Kiwi punters equalled the record $10.6 million in bets wagered in a day in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Racing Board said there were a record 1.7 million bets on the Melbourne Cup, 2529 of them on the winner, Cross Counter.

"At our peak 38,000 customers were on the TAB digital channels. There were 2133 online bets placed per minute," the board said in a statement.

Turnover for the day - the biggest for the year - was equal to the record turnover for the 2015 Cup.

One Kiwi punter won almost $100,000 after backing Cross Counter. The punter outlaid $8700 on the New Zealand TAB at odds of $11 to win $95,700.

Some punters said they could not get bets on as the TAB website came up with error messages close to the Cup at 5pm.

"The Melbourne Cup is much more than just a horse race, it's a 158-year-old social and cultural tradition that brings Australia and New Zealand to a standstill," says Racing Board chief executive John Allen.

"There has been a record amount of betting both online and in our TAB outlets. There was also great turnouts at our domestic meetings and the race itself delivered a real spectacle for viewer on top of an excellent programme of New Zealand racing."