Police have praised the behaviour of the 102,000 people who attended the Melbourne Cup.

Police at Flemington reported arresting 13 people for drunkenness and ejecting 52 others from the course for excessive drinking or offensive behaviour.

No assaults were reported but there was a small number of bag thefts and pickpocketing offences.

"Considering there was a crowd of more than 102,000 race goers, they were very well behaved" Superintendent Jock Menzell said.

"It's pleasing to see people can enjoy themselves without affecting others. Let's hope this translates through the rest of the carnival."

Random breath tests of drivers in and around the racecourse yielded fewer than expected positive results, police said.

Five drivers were detected allegedly over the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level out of 3,245 drivers tested in and around Flemington, Acting Senior Sergeant Tony Rayson said.

The highest recorded BAC was 0.11 per cent.

Other offences detected in the operation included one of driving while unlicensed, two for speeding, four of failing to wear seat belts, two of driving an unregistered vehicle and one driver using a mobile phone.

Sgt Rayson said only one in 649 drivers were caught drink driving.

"With such a low strike rate, it appears people are heeding our message of don't gamble with your licence this spring," he said.

"People have and should continue to take advantage of the easily accessible rail network from the racecourse."