It's the one day of the year where you can let your hair down, drink some bubbly and lose a little money, as the race that stops the nation hits the capital.
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Canberrans dressed up in their best and brightest and converged on Thoroughbred Park to celebrate Melbourne Cup day in style.
Thoroughbred Park chief executive Peter Stubbs said they were expecting about 6000 people to attend.
And despite the lack of a public holiday, Thoroughbred Park had no difficulty filling the stands. University student Maddy Thorne said she had ditched her classes to attend.
"I'm finally 18 so I can actually get dressed up and have a girls' day," she said.
"It's just fun, the atmosphere is incredible."
Race goers David Kaufman and Marc Minato said it was a great excuse to chill and have some beers.
"It's a chance to see everyone dressed up and it's also the one day of the year you can spend a bit of money and get away with it," said Mr Minato.
Fashions on the Field
Guys and girls in their Sunday best have lined up in droves for one of the day's main events, Fashion in the Field.
Twenty-year-old Emily Dibden of Cook took out the women's Fashions in the Field.
Second in the women's category was Kody Leigh,18, of Stirling and third was Lucy Hoolihan, 27, of Farrah.
Meantime in the men's division Andrew Stead, 30, of Belconnen took first place, Sam McGlowne, 18, of Braidwood came second, and Dan Posh, 26, of Latham took out third place.
The couples' division was won by Rebecca Lavaki of Torrens and Joey Colebatch from Sydney.
Fashion in the Field MC Sarah Kelly has been hosting the event for three years, ever since she won it herself in Flemington in 2009.
"Every race day is different," said Ms Kelly. "Melbourne Cup is a big day but from what I've seen the women entering today have done well. Very appropriate."
Quiet day for the bookies
Fiorente may have won in spectacular fashion but it's been a quiet day for betting, much to the disappointment of bookie Jeff Strang.
"It's been terrible, the worst it's been since I can remember," he said. "It's about half of what we took in last year. So much for the return of consumer confidence. Outside it's been flat all day."
A well-behaved crowd
But ACT Police operations commander at Thoroughbred Park Jo Cameron said she had been glad to have very quiet day all round, despite some punters drinking as early as 11am.
"Very very well behaved crowd," she said. "But we'll continue to watch all the post celebration antics. It's about not drinking so much you become a nuisance."
She reminded those driving today that the police will have breathalysers scattered across the city. "Breath testers could be anywhere," she said.
