The May Racing Carnival is coming around again and as has always been the case, the city is primed and raring to go.
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We have come across a body of photos from the mid to late 1980s, showing what the carnival looked like at that time.
Let's start with fashion.
It was a time when more was more. While fashions are a little more sheer with more on show now, back in the 80s it was still high, just with plenty of coverage.
Photos of the day show most dresses where below the knee, coats were common and low-cut blouses rare.
Hats were big and feathery and jewellery was classical, with pearls and brooches popular.
But perhaps the biggest change in the May Racing Carnival fashion landscape is what the men are wearing.
Old photos from the 1980s show elderly and middle-aged men in suits or slacks, a nice shirt and jumpers.
The young lads may have found a shirt and a tie, but it was more likely to be from their deb back in the day or for a cousin's wedding.
And there were also plenty of flannelette shirts and jeans in the crowd - just another day out with mates.
The men, young, old and in the middle, are now much more discerning, with suits, shirts, shoes, hats, who especially shopped for the purchased for the races.
The tipple of racegoers back in the day was a bit more basic than those who will attend in 2024.
Photos from the 1980s show white wine and beer.
And when we say beer, we mean Victoria Bitter in cans.
Craft beers were unheard of and as exotic as it got was a Crown Lager.
It was the days before the Matilda Room, when the big sit-down eating area was under the old grandstand.
Marquees were tents and catering was, well wine and VB, and cheese and kabana.
Lines at the entry gates were long, pre-buying tickets online was still decades away, it was all cash.
The hill that draws such a crowd for the steeplechase was just as popular.
It was less manicured and cars would be parked among the masses, with boots full of beer.
The Brierly paddock that so famously hosts jumps in the steeplechase, did just that as well back in the day.
But once again, it was a paddock, not what now looks like a well-mowed field around it.
And behind the jumping houses in the distance was the old Brierly hospital, which of course is no longer.
The carnival has always been famous, but the coverage was not as wall-to-wall as it is today.
BTV 6 Ballarat used to run the finish of the steeplechase and the Cup on their nightly news.
The betting ring of today still has a swag of bookmakers and plenty of customers.
But in the 1980s, it was even more hectic given sport betting apps were not yet thought of.
If you wanted a bet, you went and physically put one on at the Tote, or with the bookies.
So everyone, enjoy the races, and make some memories we can reminisce on a generation from now.