The champagne has been popped, the fascinators are on, and the horses are running as thousands of punters swarm Perth’s Ascot Racecourse for Melbourne Cup celebrations.

The drinks were flowing well before lunchtime as more than 12,000 people turned out in force on Tuesday to watch the race that stops the nation.

The ladies were dressed to impress with block colour dresses in butter yellow, pale pink, and baby blue covering the grounds.

Lucy Prior was wearing a matching pale blue dress and hat.

“We love watching all of the fashion and looking at everyone’s fascinators and dresses,” she said.

“We are liking the look of number four for the Melbourne Cup so I’ll put a small bet on that.”

Oceana Beazley was celebrating early with two buckets of wine for her and her friends.

She has been

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