Racing royalty ready for Cup parade
Racing fans will line up for a glimpse of Melbourne Cup royalty when the annual pre-race parade brings Melbourne to a standstill.
Australia's first lady of racing, trainer Gai Waterhouse, will travel down Melbourne's Swanston St in a horse-drawn carriage in front of an expected crowd of tens of thousands of people.
Racing royalty of the four-legged kind - previous cup champions Might and Power, Doriemus, Brew, Rogan Josh and Efficient - will join the parade as well.
The midday parade will also include jockeys and trainers competing for this year's Cup, and the cup itself - an 18 carat solid gold creation worth $175,000.
The $6.2 million Cup has drawn a strong field of international contenders including the favourite, Japan's Admire Rakti, meaning the 2014 trophy could well be headed offshore.
Off-track winners will also feature in the parade, with the state finalists of the hotly contested Myer Fashions on the Field competition also showing their style.
The Melbourne Cup will once again stop the nation at 3pm on Tuesday.
About 100,000 people are expected at Flemington racecourse and millions more will be watching on TV around the country.
