​More than six million people are expected watch the race on television or stream it online with crowds of more than 95,000 expected to flock to Flemington Racecourse on the day.

WHERE: Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne

WHEN: Tuesday, November 7, 2017

TIME: Gates open at 8.30am

The 2017 Melbourne Cup will be run at 1:30pm Katherine time.

Katherine Club is hosting a Calcutta tonight.

For Melbourne Cup tomorrow you can pay $50 for a buffet and complimentary drink on arrival.

The race will be played on big screens around the club and there will be best dressed competitions. 

The Katherine Country Club is also hosting a luncheon for $75 a head.

There will be best dressed competitions and lots of lucky door prizes. 

BLOG: The Age will live blog the action from 9am until the final race with trackside reporters to ensure you don't miss a thing.

TV: Channel 7 will air the race day coverage

TWITTER: The event will be live streamed on Twitter for the second consecutive year.

The favourite for the Cup is last year's winner Almandin, which now has Italian jockey Frankie Dettori in the saddle after Damien Oliver was suspended for his ride in the Cox Plate. Almandin is 7-1 in current markets. 

The only four horses to have won back-to-back Melbourne Cups are Makybe Diva, Think Big, Rain Lover and Archer, with Peter Pan winning his two cups in 1932 and 1934.

The second favourite is the Darren Weir-trained Humidor, the first runner since Master O'Reilly in 2008 to run in the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in the same year. Master O'Reilly ran fourth in 2008.

Read more: Your complete guide to the 2017 Emirates Melbourne Cup

Reigning champion Almandin is on the verge of being bumped from Melbourne Cup favouritism as Lloyd Williams chases a sixth success in the race with the country's biggest bookmakers hailing this year's event as the most open in the modern era.

The eight-year-old was Sportsbet's easing $8.50 equal favourite with Marmelo on Sunday night as a cluster of overseas-trained raiders and Darren Weir's Cox Plate runner-up Humidor stalked the pair at the top of betting.

Chris Waller's chances of a first Melbourne Cup were dealt a blow when Who Shot Thebarman was withdrawn after he was found to have an elevated temperature on Sunday.

The Moonee Valley Gold Cup winner was due to make his fourth appearance in the race.

It will leave just a field of 23 to face to the starter on Tuesday and bagmen are convinced a shaky Almandin will surrender favouritism after labouring into fourth in his last start, The Bart Cummings at Flemington a month ago.

"Horses like Almandin and Johannes Vermeer could come out and win by four lengths, but it also wouldn't surprise if they struggle, it's that open a race," Sportsbet's Joel Caine said.

"Almandin has had a similar prep to last year, if you can forgive the last start effort, and is the one to beat. I think the genuine tempo will suit him because he is an outstanding stayer.

"Humidor was a huge effort in the Cox Plate behind Winx. The concern is can he stay after a genuine 3200-metre race, but he is the class runner of the field.

"I expect Max Dynamite to tighten up in the market and Rekindling looks a huge X-factor horse and his high Timeform rating of 121 which sees him a major contender."

Globe-trotting jockey Frankie Dettori will try to win the one race which has eluded him at the 16th time of asking, flying in to partner Almandin following Damien Oliver's suspension stemming from the Cox Plate.

Some bookmakers are convinced Dettori's inglorious Melbourne Cup record is likely to only push Almandin's price out before jump time.

"I think it will stay $8 the field at an absolute minimum," Tab.com.au's Glenn Munsie said. "It's the widest Melbourne Cup we've had a in a very, very long while.

"Almandin is out to that price and I don't really think they know what they want to be favourite. Almandin is there as last year's winner, but there's a question mark over what happened the other day. Frankie is not going to endear himself to Australian punters.

"Your man in the street is going to find two reasons why they don't want to back it; it got beat the other day, albeit not going that bad, and also Frankie's riding it. He's had 15 goes and has never ridden a Melbourne Cup winner, but this is his best chance.

"I think they will honestly come for Marmelo because his form has been franked with the Breeders Cup winner and it's a case of, 'in Hughie [Bowman] we trust'."

Seven of the top 10 spots in betting were occupied by horses trained overseas, headed by Marmelo which was a barnstorming sixth in the Caulfield Cup.

Winx's three-time Cox Plate-winning rider Hugh Bowman will take the ride on the English stayer.

The Melbourne Cup's traditional Call of the Card will be held at Crown Casino on Monday.

Fashionistas say this spring racing season is all about pastel tones and '70-­inspired vibes for the ladies.

Here are some tips from stylist Kate Gaskin, who pulled together the looks for the Myer Spring Fashion Lunch last month.

Gaskin favours feminine tones of citrus, pale pink and pale blue. And, of course, the signature colour of the season, red.

Pulling off a head-to-toe red look takes guts, but race day, especially Cup Day and Stakes Day, is the one day to do it. Keep it tailored to avoid any Kate Bush Wuthering Heights comparisons and if you're doing it for Stakes, consider a chunkier heel and slightly more casual accessories than Cup Day, where you can pull out all stops in the glamour stakes.

While modest lengths are encouraged – even regulated – at the track, leave the floaty boho dresses for the summer festival season, Gaskin says.