More than 100,000 racegoers are expected to go to Flemington for the 155th Melbourne Cup, with the fashion and culinary delights as much of a drawcard as the action on the track.
The jump for the world's richest handicap race is scheduled for 5pm today, with nine other races also featured throughout the day.
The cup field of 24 is once again dominated by overseas entrants, with Fame Game and Trip to Paris leading the charge.
The coveted prize itself, an 18 carat gold cup, is worth $175,000 Australian.
The winner will take home $3.6 million AUD.
The weather forecast has been kind to punters with a mostly sunny and dry day, reaching a top of 22 degrees.
Racing Victoria handicapper Greg Carpenter said conditions are promising.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised about the Flemington track this morning following an inspection of the track last night.
Derby day showed Flemington had a lot of issues with its track bias with all winners coming along the rail and that looks like it will be the case today with a large section of the track tipped to be slow.
Currently the track is rated a Good 4 with the chance it may be upgraded to a Good 3 later in the day, but from about 10‑14 metres off the rail there is a ‘slow lane’ which will likely cause this to be inferior ground giving an advantage to horses who stick closer to the fence.
The Melbourne Cup kicks off at 5pm today.
