Jockey Damien Oliver crosses the finish line to win the 2013 Melbourne Cup
Jockey Damien Oliver crosses the finish line riding race favourite Fiorente to win the A$6 million ($5.7 million) Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne November 5, 2013. Red Cadeaux was second with Mount Athos third in the 153rd running of the two-mile handicap, Australia's richest thoroughbred race. Reuters

“The race that stops a nation” returns Tuesday, Nov. 4 and as per tradition, the whole of Australia will be taking a break from their individual daily grind to witness— and perhaps, make a wager or two on— the most prestigious and richest horse racing event in the country.

The 2014 Melbourne Cup gates open at 3:00 pm— as always every first Tuesday of the month of November, which falls on the 4th this year— when the best thoroughbreds in the world slug it out for a total of AU $6.175M prize money and other prizes and most importantly, a prominent place in horse racing history.

Over at bet365.com, two horses have similar betting odds as Admire Rakti and Protectionist are the top favourites with 9/2 and 6/1 betting odds, respectively. This means that every $100 bet on Admire Rakti will net a $550 return while a $100 bet on Protectionist will earn a total of $600. Completing the top five pre-race with 13/2 betting lines are Fawkner, Signoff and Lucia Valentina.

Top 10 Favourites to Win the 2014 Melbourne Cup

Admire Rakti (9/2)

Protectionist (6/1)

Fawkner (13/2)

Signoff (13/2)

Lucia Valentina (13/2)

Mutual Regard (10/1)

Red Cadeux (16/1)

Willing Foe (20/1)

Who Shot Thebarman (20/1)

Junoob (25/1)

Melbourne Cup is the world’s richest handicap race and the single richest held on turf; to note, only two other races offer more prize money than the one at Melbourne; the Dubai World Cup (US $10M) and Japan Cup ($6.7M). The Melbourne Cup winner will net the lion’s share of $3.6M for the champion while the runners-up will earn $900,000 and $450,000 for the second and third place finishers, respectively.

Relive last year’s Melbourne Cup won by Fiorente/Gai Waterhouse/ Damien Oliver:

(YouTube/TVNRacingNetwork)

The Australian horse racing spectacle began in 1861 when the first-ever Melbourne Cup was held. A century and a half later, it has become one of the most watched and followed sporting events in Australia and the world with an estimated 700 million viewers from 120 countries either via television or online not to mention the regular 100,000 plus who watch at the venue.

There are two late scratches from the race this year as Cavalryman and Sea Moon won't be joining the 2014 Melbourne Cup.

Watch the 2014 Melbourne Cup via these live streaming links and other sources:

Online Streaming by Racing Network

Home Pay TV service via Sky Racing and TVN

Free-to-air TV via Channel 7 Australia