A windy Cup day at Randwick sent fascinators flying and gave some of the men a free blow-wave.

More than 23,000 racegoers ditched work and headed to Randwick to watch the local races, and especially the Cup.

A roar erupted from the betting auditorium as the gates opened and the 22-strong field began the gruelling 3200m contest.

Punters could tell there was something wrong with race favourite Admire Rakti ($5.50), who dropped out sharply before the final bend and later died in his stall.

But there were plenty of happy stories.

Twenty-two-year-old Bronwyn Fritz won big after making a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to Randwick.

She collected $3000 after getting Protectionist in a free sweep put on by the Australian Turf Club.

"This is actually my first time at the races in Sydney," she said.

"I was jumping up and down, punching the air and screaming. A few strangers came up and patted me on the back."

Fritz said she would probably make a few new friends with her novelty-sized cheque.

As most of the crowd headed back to the bar, Fritz headed to the bookmakers to put on a few more small bets.

"Just $10 here, $5 there. I've already budgeted a bit of money out of my pay to use today," she said.

She plans to bank the bulk of her winnings.

"I'm holding out to buy a yacht one day," she said.

Fellow racegoer George Ekstrom put money on Red Cadeaux who finished second in the Melbourne Cup for the third time.

"Every year I do. He's so reliable," Ekstrom said.