November 7 in Melbourne

While people across the United States were voting for their favorite congressmen/women on November 7, people in Melbourne and throughout Australia were betting on their favorite horses. The Spring Racing Carnival began October 5 and goes until November 23, with races and related events throughout the state of Victoria. But the most famous race is the Melbourne Cup, which always falls on the first Tuesday of November, just like Election Day. The race is so important to Victorians that it's actually a state holiday--Melbourne Cup Day.

Well, I always thought it would be fun to go to a horse race after I saw Pretty Woman--just to get dressed up, of course!--so I did. I didn't actually go on Melbourne Cup Day. I went two days later (Nov 9) on Crown Oaks Day. And the races are just as much, if not more, about the fashion. The women enter competitions for the best dressed, where at least 50% of the judgment is probably based on the head-dress.

Here is this year's winner (left):

That's a bird cage on her head. She made it herself, and her dress, too!

Another jaw-dropping pair:


My get-up was considerably more modest...




It is a HUGE event, and there were over 100,000 people there.


With my general admission ticket, this is about all the horse racing I saw:


Here are the other ladies I went with (there were a couple of guys, too, but no good pics with them).