‘We’ll be fine’: Rain won’t make Melbourne Cup punters go away

Perhaps they’ve come because it’s expected to clear by race time at 3pm, or perhaps they’re here because people would come to the Cup in a hurricane, such is its significance.

Four of the 90,000 plus people tipped to tackle the Flemington slip and slide are Ken Wogandt, Katie Wogandt and their children Baylie and Lily. They arrived at Flemington at 7.30am to secure one of the best trackside spots, on the rails about one-and-a-half furlongs from the winning post.

The family from Queensland have been travelling in a caravan around Australia since January and timed their Melbourne leg with the spring racing carnival.

"We came to the Turnbull Stakes to see Winx run and that was awesome," Mr Wogandt said.

"I like Magic Circle today in the race. We’ve had a lot of time to study the form driving around for so long.

"If the rain starts again we’ve got umbrellas and ponchos in our bag so we will be fine."

They’ll head to Tasmania next week before driving up the east coast to finish their adventure by January, the Melbourne Cup would be a highlight no matter what the weather, they said.

As the rain fell, they stayed put with umbrellas and rain coats, while others with no cover in the general public ran for the grandstands.

In the members' car park - where you can plan ahead and pack your car full of supplies for the day - portable tents and marquees were being tested. Some unlucky people got caught setting theirs up as the downpour began, while this reporter couldn’t see any that collapsed amid the rain.

Meanwhile the Birdcage, usually full of celebrities, alleged celebrities and the sound of acoustic cover bands doing bad covers of pop songs, was totally deserted.

In the public area, mud wasn't a problem just yet, such is the quality of the grass.

It was more the fact that everything was waterlogged and "squidgy" underfoot (yes that's a technical term).

There were a few punters who had come prepared though, one older gentleman walking around with a couple of his kids were all wearing gumboots. Smart.

Craig Iggo and Kate Harper were stuck in a premium area when the rain came down. They're now drying out under the main grand stand.

She was soaked. "It was horrid. There was no indoor area, there were no marquees. We paid for a premium ticket, and now I'm wet and miserable. But hey - first world problems!"

Earlier, before the chaos, Southern Cross station filled with people dressed too well too early. You wondered how they were about to fare in the wet.

Angela McCormick, Lisa March and Jimena Acevedo were early contenders for best dressed on platform 8A.

Angela's stunning red dress she made herself, inspired by a 1957 Dior dress. The fabric was imported from Bali. "and we won't talk about the cost of the hat" she laughed.

Lisa's incredible design has led to her being dubbed 'frou frou' by her friends. It's a design by local designer Anthony Capon, modelled on Alexander McQueen. She said she could see "just fine" through her fluffy pink mask.

Meanwhile Jimena, the group's bargain hunter, spent $10 on hat, and borrowed a dress from her daughter. They had to dash, "otherwise we won't make fashions on the field!" cried Angela.

- with Liam Mannix