Winning a Melbourne Cup never gets old for Lloyd Williams.

"Gee, I love standing up here on this day," the most prolific owner in the race's history said, as he collected his record sixth Cup.

"We are very, very fortunate to be here in this iconic race for Melbourne which I hope one day might be a national holiday, but very, very fortunate."

In a father-and-son finish 24-year-old Joseph O'Brien's Rekindling overhauled Johannes Vermeer, trained by his champion Irish trainer dad Aidan, in the closing stages.

It gave the quinella to Williams and his mates.

It also delivered a second Cup for jockey Corey Brown.

"This feels quite surreal and it's a different feeling from my first Melbourne Cup," Brown said.

"It's hard to explain but my family is here and my daughters are old enough to appreciate it now.

"It is so special."

The Willie Mullins-trained Max Dynamite completed an Irish trifecta in taking the minor placing.

The crowd at Flemington dropped to 90,536 on the coldest Cup day in more than a decade.

The outlay Australians bet with the TAB was also down, to almost $90 million.

The Melbourne Cup carnival continues on Thursday with Oaks day, with VRC Oaks for three-year-old fillies and the national final of the fashions on the field competition.