With just three hours away from the Melbourne Cup dubbed as "the race that stops a nation", Grants Betting Limited says that Hartnell from Great Britain is the favourite for this year's race.
Hartnell finished 15th in the Melbourne Cup last year but won the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington last month before finishing runner‑up in the Cox Plate.
Grants Betting Limited General Manager, Vijendra Kumar Sundar says that Oceano-grapher and the lone Australian horse, Jameka are the other top horses.
However, Sundar says the Melbourne Cup is an open race and any horse can win.
There are 9 horses from Great Britain, 6 from Ireland, 3 from New Zealand, 2 from Germany, and one each from Australia, Japan, France and USA.
Meanwhile, Who Shot Thebarman is getting plenty of backing in New Zealand for this afternoon's running of the Melbourne Cup.
The eight‑year‑old is the leading New‑Zealand contender for the 6.4 million dollar race.
Who Shot Thebarman finished third in the Melbourne Cup two years ago.
