A who's who of Australian sprinters headed by Chautauqua feature in the nominations for the $1 million Manikato Stakes and $1 million Darley Classic during the Melbourne spring carnival.

Nominations for the two feature sprints were released on Tuesday with 60 entries for the Manikato (1200m) at Moonee Valley on October 27 and 62 for the Darley Classic (1200m) at Flemington on November 11.

Nominations have also been taken for the Victoria Derby and VRC Oaks.

The $1.5 million Victoria Derby (2500m) for three-year-olds at Flemington on November 4 has 98 nominations with the Lindsay Park stable entering 10 horses while Victoria's premier trainer Darren Weir has eight.

James Cummings won the Derby last year with Prized Icon and now as the private trainer in Australia for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation has five nominations.

The only filly nominated in the Derby is the John Sargent-trained Luvaluva who is also among 92 entered for the VRC Oaks.

A ballot exemption into the Oaks is up for grabs for the winner of the Wednesday's Oaks Trial at Flemington while the winner of the Victoria Derby Trial (1800m) is guaranteed a start in the Derby.

All horses running in Wednesday's Oaks and Derby Trials hold nominations for the respective Classics.