Fashion and fun before the long run

This year's Melbourne Cup crowd has it all — high fashion, lowbrow humour, colourful exhibitionism and even a desperate plea for a lost dog.

A group of young men from Western Australia claimed to be the first to enter Flemington Racecourse when the gates opened at 7.30am and secured the prize spot trackside next to the finish line.

When asked about the merits of their position, one said: "I don't know, there are meant to be heaps of girls here — it will be hard to pick the winner."

It wasn't only the young up early despite the brisk temperatures, with a group of 70-something women on a bus tour from NSW were also talking up their prospects for the day.

"Our husbands wouldn't come, so we came with the girls," said Daphne Bailey.

"They'll be at the golf course, probably watching to see if we meet any good sorts."

Nearby, four men were turning heads by donning giant red and yellow bowties.

They were cloned on a smaller scale by four-year-old Harry, the son of one of the men who was short on words but very happy to be tagging along ("just cos").

Elsewhere the "Feral Fairies", a group of three women in their 50s, were staking out their patch of grass dressed in chequered pink tops while listing all 17 years they have made the annual sojourn to Flemington.

"After all these years, we've decided trackside is the place to be" said Jeannie Dumbrell.

They were matched for cheekiness by three similarly-aged women in pink wigs and wearing dresses with bikinis printed onto them.

"At my age I never wear a bikini, so this is my chance!" joked Joan Shaw.

The chilly weather kept the fashionistas indoors early, with many young women bemoaning the "freezing" temperatures outside.

But some mid-morning sun encouraged the colourful frocks to bloom on the lawn and kicked off the glamour stakes.

And in a possible first, the day has also provided an unlikely forum for one person to spread the word about a lost dog.

Anna from Frankston was handing out reward posters for her kelpie-alsatian cross, which went missing on September 29 — around a month after her partner, the dog's owner, died.

"'Cooper' means more to us, more than you can imagine," the poster reads in a sobering reminder that the Melbourne Cup is just a race … even if it does stop the nation.