THE part of the Melbourne Cup that many onlookers look forward to every year is media coverage of the carnage.
The general admission area after the last race is run can be a car crash that is hard to look away from – girls with the skirts around their ears, men in ill-fitting suits rolling around on the ground wrestling, boozed revellers clashing with cops (thank you, girl in the blue dress from 2015) and couples getting amorous among crushed beer cans. These are the things you can usually expect after the race that stops the nation.
Punters enjoying themselves after the running of the Melbourne Cup, at Flemington Racecourse.Source:AAP
But this year? This year felt different.
Yes, there was still plenty of ‘colour’. There were still people who had over indulged, women who had shunned their shoes and poorly executed piggy back rides. But the ugly stuff – the violence and the vomiting in bushes - seemed to be largely diminished in 2016.
Punters enjoying themselves after the running of the Melbourne Cup, at Flemington Racecourse.Source:AAP
It certainly looked like there was an increased police presence this year which may have kept a lid on the debauchery. The police on site were reluctant to comment on crowd behaviour, saying that it’s hard to ascertain the overall behaviour when you’ve been stationed in one spot all day.
Later on, nine people were reportedly arrested at the Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington today.
Seven people were arrested for drunk, one in relation to assault and one in relation to trafficking a drug of dependence. Between police and security staff, 78 people were evicted.
But the atmosphere certainly seemed more controlled than previous years.
Punters enjoying themselves after the running of the Melbourne Cup, at Flemington Racecourse.Source:AAP
The weather may have also played a factor. Often the heat tends to escalate the booziness but this year the day was fairly overcast with showers sprinkled throughout.
And as any seasoned punter will tell you - nothing will put a dampener on your partying like the rain soaking your fascinator.
Racegoers enjoy the atmosphere on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse.Source:Getty Images