While crowds of eager racegoers won't be descending on the Melbourne Cup Carnival this year, the four-card program still remains the pinnacle of Australian racing.

It all kicks off this Saturday with Derby Day, regarded by purists as the best quality card of racing this country has to offer.

It's hard to disagree, with four Group 1's being contested, highlighted by the young sprinters and stayers doing battle in the Coolmore Stud Stakes and the Victoria Derby respectively. 

The stakes ramp up again on Tuesday, where one of the deepest fields in recent memory will line up for the 2020 Melbourne Cup.

That's followed by the VRC Oaks on Thursday then the Mackinnon Stakes next Saturday, with both days sure to present plenty of opportunities for punters.

With almost 40 races taking place at Flemington over the four-meet carnival, we've looked at the four tipsters who are best placed to deliver you a profit.

Best tipsters from the media at Flemintgton over the last year

This table ranks all media experts in Australia by profit on turnover (POT) from their tips at Flemington over the past 365 days.

We've filtered out the tipsters who have placed fewer than 100 tips in this period, to ensure that the most consistent Flemington tipsters have risen to the top.

And it's hard to disagree with the results.

Coming out in front is one of Winning Post's premier form analysts, Paul Richards. 

Richards is the racing publication's systems man, creating betting strategies based on the stats to help give punters an edge.

Which ever system or strategy he's using to pick his horses at Flemington, it's been working. 

Richards has tipped 44 winners at Flemington over the past 365 days, at a juicy average price of $5.11 and a strike rate of 25%.

This has generated a bumper 30% POT, or $5,300 in cash profit for punters betting with an even $100 stake. 

That's tremendous going.

Keen to see who else has tips available for the Melbourne Cup carnival? 

Check out our Flemington Tips market here to back the tips of winning punters using HOT Bet. 

Coming in next is Joel Marshall from Winning Post's sister publication Best Bets.

Arguably Best Bets' premier form expert, Marshall's Flemington success has been driven by the mouth-watering value he's been able to find.

His 32 winning tips have greeted the judge at a fat average price just shy of $7.

This has led to a terrific 24% POT for Marshall and his followers.

With big fields and plenty of value expected across the entire Melbourne Cup Carnival, Marshall's proven record of finding winners at a price could be a very valuable asset.

Rounding our the podium for the best performers from the media at Flemington over the past 365 days is Racing.com's Ben Asgari. 

The Persian Prince has found 39 winners, to drive a 14% POT for his followers.

Asgari also boasts the best strike rate of the top four Flemington tipsters, with his winners getting home at a very impressive 27% of the time.

On top of that, the form analyst has a proven record in the race that stops a nation.

Last year he was all over Vow And Declare, that saluted at meaty $11 odds.

Asgari will definitely have his fans this year.

The fourth and final tipster who has excelled at headquarters is none other than Deane Lester.

The undisputed king of Victorian form analysis, Deano has delivered an 11% POT despite providing over 200 Flemington tips.

With 51 winning tips at the track, he's also nabbed the most Flemington winners of the top performing media experts.

Get your hands on Deane Lester's tips and staking plan for this Saturday here.

Deane is also coming off a stellar Melbourne Cup Carnival in 2019.

He made a profit on 3 of the 4 cards, with his biggest inroads coming on Cup day itself.

There he bagged 2 juicy winners, including Vow And Declare in the feature.

Hone in on the last 180 days, and Deane's tipping stats only look better.

Over this time period, Lester shows 29% POT with the average price of winners coming in at an enviable $5.14. 

All signs point to another fill-up over the Cup carnival, and you can access his race day package exclusiveley through theGreatTipOff.com here.

It includes his staking plan, comments on every runner, speed maps and race day audio preview. It's all you need for a day on the punt!

Deane Lester's impressive 180 tipping stats at HQ