The Melbourne Cup 2014 will take place at Flemington Racecourse in Victoria tomorrow on the traditional Melbourne Cup date on the first Tuesday of November and the local jump time for the ‘Race That Stops a Nation’ is 3:00pm (AEDT).

Lucia Valentina is out to atone for a third in the Caulfield Cup taking on her last start conqueror Admire Rakti in the 2014 Melbourne Cup field. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.

Online bookmaker Ladbrokes.com.au, home of the $10 million Melbourne Cup Megafecta, makes it possible to enjoy a punt on the world’s richest handicap no matter where you are in the country.

See below then to discover the local Melbourne Cup race time for your major city so you don’t miss out on the action!

2014 Melbourne Cup Start Time

• Melbourne: 3:00pm
• Sydney: 3:00pm
• Brisbane: 2:00pm
• Adelaide: 2:30pm
• Perth: 12:00pm
• Canberra: 3:00pm
• Hobart: 3:00pm
• Darwin: 1:30pm

The Melbourne Cup field is down to 23 starters following the withdrawal of one of two chances for owner Lloyd Williams to score his fifth victory in the two mile classic, #5 Sea Moon out with an elevated temperature.

The stable still saddles up one of the five single figure hopes in the Melbourne Cup odds at Ladbrokes.com.au with Fawkner ($9.50) out to become the first seven-year-old Melbourne Cup winner since Makybe Diva (2005) who won her third at that age following previous wins in 2003 and 2004.

Melbourne Cup betting remains the domain of Japan’s Caulfield Cup winning top weight Admire Rakti out from $4.80 to $5.50 to become the first champion to carry the hefty 58.5kg weight to victory since Think Big for the ‘Cups King’ Bart Cummings back in 1975.

Other notable hopes for the $6.2 million, 3200m showdown include German stayer Protectionist ($7.50) who won the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay (3000m) this year that produced Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) for their Melbourne Cup victories in recent years, the Kris Lees-trained mare Lucia Valentina ($7.50) drawn a treat in barrier two and the weekend’s Lexus Stakes winner Signoff ($7.50).

The early Melbourne Cup market mover meanwhile is Mutual Regard, another of the 11 international hopes in the mix this year.

The Hernando gelding is prepared by former star Irish jockey Johnny Murtagh and has been well backed firming in from $13 to $11.

Murtagh is also represented in the Melbourne Cup field by Royal Diamond, a Steven Arnold mount paying $61 (out from $51) to score an upset Melbourne Cup result.

Mutual Regard will be ridden by one of two modern-day Melbourne Cup jockeys to have ridden three previous winners to victory with Damien Oliver in the saddle and the duo jumping from barrier 12.

Oliver’s winning Melbourne Cup rides were on Doriemus (1995), Media Puzzle (2002) and most recently Fiorente (2013) 12 months ago.

He’s after back-to-back wins then and the last jockey to achieve successive Melbourne Cup victories was Glen Boss.

Boss is the other triple Melbourne Cup winning hoop having been aboard Makybe Diva for all three of her victories (2003, 2004 and 2005).

This year Boss had the ride on one of three in the field for Chris Waller, Auckland Cup winner over the two miles Who Shot Thebarman backed in from $26 to $21 and drawn in barrier 13.

Waller’s other Melbourne Cup horses in 2014 are then The Metropolitan winner Junoob ($26) coming off a Caulfield cup seventh and Sydney Cup runner-up over the distance in the autumn Opinion ($67) in gate 13 for the in-form Tye Angland.

Think you can pick the first seven over the line in the Melbourne Cup finishing order on Tuesday?

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