The Melbourne Cup is almost here with the final field ready to make history. Australian and international horses will gallop in the 3200 metre race for $8 million in prize money. Here are the key things you need to know before the running of the 'race that stops the nation'. The Melbourne Cup is always held on the first Tuesday in November. This year's race will start at 3pm AEDT on November 7. For those in Victoria, NSW, the ACT and Tasmania it's on at 3pm. If you're watching in Western Australia its 12pm, in the Northern Territory it's on at 1.30pm, and it's 2pm in Queensland, 2.30pm in Adelaide. Channel 10 will have coverage of the Melbourne Cup from 10am until 5.30pm. You can also livestream it at racing.com, or watch on the racing channel on Foxtel. As of 1pm November 2, French export VAUBAN is the hot favourite paying 3.50 for a fixed odds win with tab.com.au. Behind VAUBAN is GOLD TRIP, paying 4.50 for a fixed odds win and WITHOUT A FIGHT in third spot paying 7.00 for a fixed odds win. ALENQUER, ASHRUN AND FUTURE HISTORY are paying 34.00 for a fixed odds win. The longest odds currently is TRUE MARVEL paying 201.00 for a fixed odds win. The race is 3200 metres and a total of $8 million is on offer this year, it's the same as last year. This is the breakdown: Position - Horse 1st - GOLD TRIP 2nd - EMISSARY 3rd - HIGH EMOCEAN Only five horses have won multiple Cups, with the great mare Makybe Diva holding the record with three Melbourne Cups, all ridden by jockey Glen Boss. Wins - Horse - Years 3 Makybe Diva - 2003, 2004, 2005 2 Think Big - 1974, 1975 2 Rain Lover - 1968, 1969 2 Peter Pan - 1932, 1934 2 Archer - 1861, 1862
