• James Hall

Canberra horseman Len Hodgson just trains a couple of racers but his ability is unquestionable.

• Patrick Bartley

Wealthy Melbourne businessman Rick Jamieson has managed to breed the one-time fastest racehorse in the world.

• David Polkinghorne

"It was bad enough running second" in the 1961 Caulfield Cup by a length, but when Bernie Howlett copped a suspension that ruled him out of the Melbourne Cup it was "the pits".

• Chris Roots

For the past 12 years, a group of mates have been in the background at Team Williams, trying to ride their coattails to the Melbourne Cup.

• Patrick Bartley

Over  $250m is expected to be wagered across world on this year's $6.2m Melbourne Cup in what will be the biggest gambling splurge on a horse race ever staged in Australia.

• Liam Mannix

While professional gamblers hunt for winners on the field, scammers are using the Melbourne Cup to hunt for suckers.

• Adam Pengilly

The flamboyant Frankie Dettori hailed Wicklow Brave as being "on the same path" as last year's runner-up Max Dynamite as the world's most recognisable jockey hopes not to be the Melbourne Cup hard luck story on Tuesday. Fined $20,000 and suspended for a month for causing carnage in the straight during last year's race when beating all bar Prince Of Penzance home, Dettori jetted into Melbourne on Monday morning determined to break his Melbourne Cup duck. "I think [Wicklow Brave and Max Dynamite] are on the same path," Dettori said. "Last year was one of those things. The Melbourne Cup every year has some sort of unlucky story and last year it was me." But it hasn't dented Dettori's confidence on Wicklow Brave, who has to contend with the awkward outside barrier. "It's a massive race and I've never won it and I'm going to carry on trying until I do win it," Dettori said. "I won't say it hurts, but I'd love to win it."

• Lucy Cormack

A mathematician's advice for betting on the race that stops the nation.

• Tim Habel

Whether they have a Melbourne Cup bet or draw a horse in a sweep, most Australians will have a financial interest in the race that truly does 'stop the nation'.

• Adam Pengilly

One of the Melbourne Cup's rank outsiders has been the subject of a mammoth bet at the annual Call of the Card as punters swarmed to back two of the favoured runners on Monday.

• Tony Wright

As Melbourne hunkers down for a chilly Melbourne Cup, Australia's only female racecaller, Victoria Shaw, is flying to a warmer climate to call the races at Coffs Harbour, northern NSW.

• Chris Roots

Lee Freedman has won five Melbourne Cups, Damien Oliver has won three, but they are comfortable being "under the radar" heading to Flemington with import Exospheric on Tuesday.

• Patrick Bartley

Understandably ex-pat jockey Brett Prebble experiences all sorts of differing emotions at this time of year.

• Rob Waterhouse

I am constantly given Melbourne Cup form advice by once-a-year punters. It is invariably along the same lines: favourites never win; must be a back marker, i.e. nowhere near the lead; the Northern Hemisphere horses are over-rated; avoid top-weights. As well-meaning as these people are, they should stick to their day jobs.

• Adam Pengilly

Nick Hall could win a Melbourne Cup and still most will be none the wiser about racing's rubik's cube. Twist it one way and think you've got it figured out, but another puzzle pops up.

• Chloe Booker

The rain held off for thousands of racing fans who lined Melbourne's streets to watch their favourite jockeys, trainers and thoroughbreds in the Melbourne Cup Parade on Monday afternoon.  

• Adam Pengilly

Godolphin has their best chance to win a Melbourne Cup after almost two decades of trying. But in a year of sporting droughts being broken by those wearing blue, how many people will really care?

• Chris Roots

Chris Waller is a winner. There is no other Australian trainer that can match  him in the past couple of years for  big race success, but the Melbourne Cup is a different story.

• Andrew Webster

John O'Shea will saddle up Hartnell as the Melbourne Cup favourite on Tuesday. But before he got the job at global powerhouse Godolphin, he had to go for a memorable spin around the desert in a bullet-proof car.

• Melissa Singer

The products and tips that will get you through the day, smudge-free.

• Chris Johnston

Hartnell is a six-year-old elite racehorse, born in the United Kingdom. He is a deep brown gelding with hungry eyes and a distinctive white line down his forehead, all the way onto his nose, like a racing stripe. He is the favourite to win the Melbourne Cup.

• Melissa Singer

Cup Day is set to be grey and drizzly but that doesn't mean abandoning your plans to lead the style stakes, if you take a few small steps to weather-proof your look.

• Michael Lynch

The man who is synonymous with the Melbourne Cup, Victorian businessman and owner Lloyd Williams, believes one of his quartet of candidates has beaten the handicapper and got into the great race with a lower weight than he should have.

• Michael Lynch

The internationals: their form and prospects in the Melbourne Cup

• Adam Pengilly

The easy perception is Adrian Bott is just along for the ride. A little recognition in the racebook. And even less influence behind the scenes. A bit part in the decisions that matter most. The perception is wrong.

A downloadable, printable sweep for the 2016 Melbourne Cup.

• Adam Pengilly

Lloyd Williams will ring on Melbourne Cup morning. Michelle Payne might text. And then the person Katelyn Mallyon draws most inspiration from will get in touch.

• Andrew Webster

The Irish connections are renowned for having a great time — but there will be a sobering feeling when they walk into Flemington on Tuesday.

• Patrick Bartley

As James Cummings becomes a fourth-generation Derby-winning trainer, his father says close family ties and hard work play key parts in the amazing success story.