Canberrans will enjoy their final Melbourne Cup public holiday today despite the spectre of an interest rate rise in the afternoon.
A steamy day with a maximum 29 degrees and chance of an afternoon thunderstorm is forecast.
There is also the possibility of winds whipping up dust, although Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Tracey Malmborg assured fashionistas there would not be dust storms, just a bit of haze and dust-on-the-car effect.
''Probably don't wear white,'' she advised.
Fashions on the Field will again be hotly contested, with strict criteria that were all about class and elegance, not nightclub attire for instance competitors are reminded that ''predominance of exposed skin is not classed as classic race wear''.
There will be Myer gift vouchers for the best-dressed man, woman and couple, with Face of Canberra Racing and judge Elkie Stuart saying she was going for a ''classic but summery'' look.
She will be wearing a fire-engine-red dress by Natasha Gan and bone jacket by Review, set off by shoes, hat and gloves she already had in her wardrobe.
And her tip for the Cup? Daffodil.
While the hospitality industry has welcomed the end of Canberra's Melbourne Cup holiday next year, the Family and Community Day instead to be held on the first Monday of the September-October school holidays, Thoroughbred Park chief executive Peter Stubbs said the holiday was a boon for Canberra racing.
He said capacity crowds of more than 13,000 attended the Melbourne Cup meeting on the public holiday, compared with the 9000 who attended when it was a working day.
ACTTAB marketing manager Kevin Woolfe said last year Canberrans bet $4.03million on Melbourne Cup day and $2.35million on the race itself, which was a record.
Last year the Reserve Bank cut interest rates on Melbourne Cup day; today it's expected to raise them. But Mr Woolfe did not expect that to dampen Canberrans' desire to have a bet on the race.
Caterers were hard at work yesterday at Thoroughbred Park and venues such as the Hyatt Hotel Canberra which were hosting functions despite the public holiday.
Helen and Livio Braiuka from Flair Gourmet Services were the on-site caterers at Thoroughbred Park, feeding everyone from those enjoying a seafood banquet in air-conditioned function rooms to the average punter who just wanted a bucket of hot chips. Their team expected to serve up 90kg of prawns, 1500 oysters, ''thousands'' of hot dogs and quantities of alcohol that were ''too much to count''.
Ice sculptor Hubert Amann, a retired CIT cooking lecturer, created stunning ice horse-head sculptures for the day. And, no, he's never been tempted to put one in anyone's bed.
''No. I'm not one of the brothers,'' he said, with a laugh.
The Hyatt Hotel will be entertaining close to 300 people, with new executive chef Hartmut Kehm starting work yesterday and about to enjoy his first Melbourne Cup.
And for all the festivities, there is a reminder from ACT Policing that targeted and random breath-testing will take place.
Acting Superintendent Dennis Gellatly said police would ''not tolerate public drunkenness and anti-social behaviour''.
''The message is, if you plan to drive to the event, then plan on being breath tested,'' he said.
Admission at the gate at Thoroughbred Park is $40 for general patrons or $5 for aged pensioners. Gates open at 9.30am.