Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup also divides Australians along gender, employment and state lines, according to a survey by TEG Insights.

The October Omnibus surveyed 1,000 people and found some interesting trends about attitudes and habits ahead of Melbourne Cup:

Spending

• Australians will spend an average of $179 on Melbourne Cup day.
• Some $88 of it will be on betting.
• A further $91 on entertainment, fashion and dining.
• Over 10 per cent of Australians will spend more than $300.
• Males on average will have a total spend of $70 more than women at the races.
• Males average spend of $132.82 compares to $62.82 by women.

Betting

• Some 41 per cent of those surveyed only place bets on the Melbourne Cup.
• Females (61 per cent) were the most likely to only place bets on the Melbourne Cup.
• The top three bet types for the Melbourne Cup are each way (21 per cent), place (20 per cent) and win (19 per cent)

Melbourne Cup activities

• Based on the findings, 60 per cent of Australians plan to participate in Melbourne Cup activities next Tuesday.
• Females are more likely to celebrate by wearing fancy dress and attending group social events. 
• Males are more likely to celebrate by watching and betting on the race from a pub, hotel or betting venue.

How the states compare

• NSW (26 per cent) and Queensland (15 per cent) residents are more likely to watch the race from a local hotel or pub.
• Victorian residents (30 per cent) are more likely to attend a lunch function with friends and family.
• The Northern Territory and Western Australia residents are mostly involved through office functions and sweepstakes.

Melbourne Cup in the workplace

• Some 40 per cent of white collar workers would take an extended lunch break or half-day from work.
• 30 per cent of white collar workers plan to participate in office sweepstakes.
• 23 per cent of Australians in blue collar jobs said their workplace did not recognise the celebrations.
• While Melbourne Cup is a public holiday for 94 per cent of white and blue collar workers in Victoria, just over half (51 per cent) of Australians surveyed across all other states were only allowed to take a standard lunch break.