Just a few weeks ago, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ commitment to having a crowd of 10,000 people at today’s Melbourne Cup was taken as a sign that the state’s battle with COVID was moving on. And here we are – it’s the first Tuesday in November, and the race that stops the nation will be run at Flemington at 3pm. Going in, there is a firm favourite for the 3.2km race. Country Queensland’s Incentivise is attracting odds of $2.80 for the win and $1.55 for a place. The 5yo gelding hasn’t won at the distance, but he is fancied to make it 10 wins on the trot. Or should that be gallop… Incentivise is so fancied that parallels with legend Phar Lap are being drawn… If the gee-gees aren’t your thing, the fashions on the field are set to be epic, according to those in the know. The ins and outs of one of the biggest days on the Aussie sporting calendar are here.