Nation stops as Flemington comes to Bomboras

Forget Flemington Racecourse, the action this Melbourne Cup was at Bomboras Torquay as locals celebrated the race that stops the nation.

From fashions on the field to drinks on arrival, the Bomboras Melbourne Cup was a massive success with punters cheering on horses via the big screen.

Co-owner Tom McGrath said close to 120 people came to enjoy the festivities and embraced the race day dress code.

“We weren’t sure if people were going to get on board with their outfits but everyone made the effort and got dressed up, it really made the day a lot better,” Mr McGrath said.

“We delayed fashions on the field until after the cup so everyone had a little more courage, cleared a runway and had a great soundtrack while people walked.”

Mr McGrath said two tickets to A Day on the Green were up for grabs for best-dressed male and female and next year they’d make the event and prizes even bigger.

“It was a really good first attempt at the day and next year we’ll recruit even more prizes, we got really positive feedback that there was an event held locally for the cup,” he said.

“It was a great crowd of young and old and just a fantastic relaxed day.”

He said Bomboras employee Nicole Mitchell came up with the concept and put together the prizes for fashions on the field and the auction.

“We (Tom and co-owner Josh Friend) can’t take credit for the day, it was Nicole’s idea. It was a fantastic afternoon and next year we’ll make sure to put on more staff so we can just enjoy it as we ended up having to work a bit more than we thought we would.”