A day (off) at the Races

Melbourne Cup Day is the highlight of the racing calendar in Australia (and for a lot of people a great day off!).

The first Tuesday of November every year at 3.20pm is when Australia stops for a horse race.

This is the Aussie equivalent to the Grand National and Ascot and every other horse race on the calendar put together!

It's such an important event on the sporting calendar that in the state of Victoria, Melbourne Cup day is actually a public holiday (and has been since 1877!). In fact, they don't really just stop at the one day, and all of this week is the 'Melbourne Cup Carnival'.

Over 100,000 people attend the races on Melbourne cup day (that's a lot of hats!), and there have been this huge number of race-goers since 1880. (Look here for more Melbourne Cup history and stats so I don't keep boring you with them!).

The cup makes for a fun time to visit Melbourne, as there will be lots going on and the weather should be starting to warm up. Of course you will need to book in advance, and expect to pay a bit more for your room (most likely — or least face a minimum booking period), but will definitely be a buzzy time to visit.

So why all the excitement about a horse race? Well, for one there is a HUGE AUD$5.1m prize (that's well over £2m). Then there are the fashions...

The 'Fashions on the Field' competition was started (in the '60s) to entice more "ladies" to attend the races. Yes, we all know how we crave attention for our hats and dresses ;-) If you want to promenade yourself and enter the search for "the most glamorous, stylishly dressed women in Australia", just get there early on race day and register. And they don't leave the chaps out either — on Victoria Derby Day, the men can enter the "Men's classic racewear competition" too.

The Melbourne Cup is always the first Tuesday in November. Maybe book a trip for that time next year for a flutter?