Breakfast

6:19 ON TAPP: Helen Thomas talks to the man with the golden tonsils, former racecaller and broadcaster John Tapp about the big race this afternoon. He's been watching the action at Flemington with interest over the past few mornings from his post at SKY Channel.

6:37 ARCTIC OWL: James Fanshaw, trainer of Arctic Owl, a seven year old gelding from the UK, speaks to Andrew Coulloupas about his chances for this afternoon. ArcticOwl is one of four European runners brought here to tackle the Melbourne Cup and is on the third line of betting having won his last two starts in the southern hemisphere.

6:44 WALK THE TRACK: Helen Thomas talks to Bryan Martin, Sport 927's racecaller, who will broadcast to something like 50 million people around the world when the gates open for the big race this afternoon.

6:48 GAI'S MARE: Victory at the Melbourne Cup seems to have eluded Australia's Queen of the Turf, Gai Waterhouse. She speaks to Helen Thomas about how this year's entrant Copacabana could change all that.

7:34 POLITICAL UPDATE: Michelle Grattan, chief political correspondent with the Sydney Morning Herald, with the latest news from the nation's capital.

7:37 BART'S VIEW: Bart Cummings, one of the world's most respected thoroughbred trainers, tells Helen Thomas how Australian racing authorities have forgotten the real heroes of the track: the horses. He has levelled criticism at the authorities for the past few years for inviting too many foreign horses to run in the Cup.

7:43 VRC VIEW: Greg Nichols, Chief Administrator with the Victoria Racing Club, is the man responsible for inviting overseas horses to run in the Melbourne Cup. He talks about why it is so important.

7:48 FAR CRY: Far Cry, one of the European contingent of horses, will get his first taste of Aussie racing this afternoon. Andrew Coulloupas talks to his trainer Martin Pipe who thinks his horse might just reduce his local rivals to tears.

7:55 GO YIPPY: Geoff White explains to Helen Thomas why it's a small miracle his horse, Yippyio, is racing at all in this afternoon's race.

8:06 THE FORM: Ken Callander, the Daily Telegraph's racing columnist, talks to Helen Thomas about the form of the twenty four runners in this year's Melbourne Cup.

8:12 THE CALL: Blake Ryan won last year's Radio National "Search for New Racecallers" competion. Helen Thomas talks to the Gold Coast teenager one year on.

8:17 GIRL BOOKIE: Kathryn Read talks about what it's like to be a woman in the notoriously male-dominated world of bookmaking.