THE women of Cairns are firming as the most fashionable fillies in the nation's style stable, nabbing another honour in the hotly contested Fashions on the Field.

Continuing the Far North's dream run in the racewear stakes at Flemington, local milliner Amanda Macor was yesterday named first runner up in the 1000-strong field.

She impressed the judging panel in a mint green jacquard dress by local label Michalenko and a neon green hat from her own collection.

Ms Macor will compete at Oaks Day tomorrow and also has a hat entered in the millinery category.

Cairns girl Sarah Bremner will wear the Queensland sash in the Fashions on the Field final at Oaks Day. It is the third consecutive year the state's entrant has come from Cairns.

Meanwhile, punters have embarked on a Melbourne Cup betting spree, wagering $150 million on Australia's greatest race.

Betting agency Tabcorp took almost $100 million in bets from punters on their NSW and Victoria tote platforms.

The $97.3 million that was wagered with Tabcorp on the race was up 6.5 per cent on 2011.

A total of $147.2 million was handed over by punters in the two states on the 10-race card at Flemington.

A breakdown of the figures shows that $37.4 million was wagered through the Victorian TAB tote on the Melbourne Cup, with $66.8 million for the 10 races at Flemington.

In NSW, there was $50 million bet through the tote on the Melbourne Cup and $64.3 million throughout the day.

The Melbourne Cup winner, Green Moon, paid $22.50 on the Victorian tote and $20.80 on the NSW tote.

"Melbourne Cup day wagering is a vast operational exercise for Tabcorp, given the number of bets and transactions that our systems process," Tabcorp's David Attenborough said.

Queensland-based Tattsbet had $40 million in Melbourne Cup sales, which includes South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory.

Western Australia punters wagered an all-time record for the state on the Melbourne Cup, betting more than $15.56 million on the race that stops the nation.

"The total is an all-time record for the state, up more than a million on last year -- it has been a crazy day," David Shortte of TAB Player said.

When favoured runners Dunaden and Americain never raised the hopes of their supporters, lotto-like dividends were declared for selecting the first four horses in the correct finishing position.

Picking Green Moon, Fiorente, Jakkalberry and Kelinni in the right order resulted in a $1.467 million dividend on the NSW TAB.

Tabcorp's fixed odds business held a record $10 million on the race, for which the winner was a one-time favourite. But Green Moon fell from favour after finishing unplaced in the Cox Plate and was sent out a $20 chance with on-course bookmakers yesterday.

Bookmaking firm Sportingbet Australia said Green Moon was not without solid support from its customers.

"We took plenty of four-figure bets on Green Moon today including one of $100,000 to $5000," chief executive Michael Sullivan said.

The bookmaker was one of the first to offer betting on this year's race with Green Moon opening at $31.

NEW CAIRNS.COM.AU COMMENT POLICY
We welcome your comments on this story. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Comments submitted without a full name and suburb/location will not be considered for publication. Please read our full comment policy and publication guidelines.

Share this article