Empty racecourse won't stop Melbourne Cup from being the race that stops the nation

The Melbourne Cup will always be the Melbourne Cup whether crowds are there or not, Tony Jones writes.

If there is one thing Victorians have been forced to do for much of this year, it is adapt.

We accepted the fact that the AFL simply couldn't be played in its spiritual home ... heck, we even, begrudgingly, wished Queensland all the best in its one off (fingers crossed!) hosting of the Grand Final.

Now comes another challenge, the Melbourne Cup.

READ MORE: How Melburnians will be celebrating Cup Day despite COVID-19 restrictions

The real staying test in Cups gone by has been, not so much the horses, but the actual racegoers.

Some, like the horses they back, go too early and fade towards the finish ... heading home with their tails between their legs and in need of a spell.

On this first Tuesday of November though, the famous course that is Flemington will be privy to none of the usual shenanigans.

COVID-19 has ensured that this Cup Carnival, like every other race meeting around the state, will be crowd free.

The (in)famous birdcage is now just that, a giant birdcage with giant stuffed birds perched inside... a somewhat over-the-top addition to the course that will be seen by virtually no one.

READ MORE: Melbourne set to celebrate warmest Cup Day in at least six years

Usually that area of the track is a pop-up township of marquees where the finest and food and champagne flow freely.

It's where the beautiful people mingle, hoping their heads and threads will feature in the social pages.

Only a pandemic, it seems, will keep the A,B,C and D listers at home.

Already Melburnians have embraced this new challenge of creating a race day atmosphere at home, ordering food hampers and filling the esky with ice to replicate Flemington in the 'burbs.

So far, it's working. Derby Day proved that. Not a punter in sight, yet it threw up the most magnificant of stories.

Former North Melbourne premiership coach Denis Pagan training the winner, Johnny Get Angry.

The victory camejust four months after Pagan was handed his trainer's licence.

With the Derby done and dusted, the Cup now beckons.

Homes, pubs, restaurants and parks are creating an atmosphere not previously thought possible.

Admittedly, it eliminates the chances of bobbing up in the social pages, but, hey, you're only a hashtag away from social media trending.

In short, the Melbourne Cup will always be the Melbourne Cup whether crowds are there or not.

The race will again stop the nation. And there will again be those who won't remember a thing about it.

But at least they'll be spared the challenge of getting home.

That alone must count as a Cup Day win.