The Melbourne Cup might officially be the race that stops a nation, but on Tuesday some very different races were snapping up attention in the Top End.
The Berry Springs Tavern, south of Darwin, held an unconventional take on race day, unleashing baby crocodiles onto a makeshift track, consisting of astroturf and hay bales.
It's a spectacle which the pub's owner, Ian Sloan, labelled a "uniquely Territorian event".
"It's the only place in the world where saltwater crocodiles are raced," he said.
"It's the richest crocodile race in the world, it's the longest track in the world, it has the fastest crocodiles in the world and there's only one place you can see it, and that's at Berry Springs Tavern every Melbourne Cup day."
Mr Sloan said there was also "a horse race in the middle there somewhere".
Punters lined up along the pub's patio to watch the apex predators race, the sheilas adorned in their best fascinators and the blokes in their best pair of thongs, in what Mr Sloan dubbed "fashions in the bush".
With the pub claiming to be the only place where crocodiles are competitively raced, the layout of the track is unlike any other.
Crocodile wrangler, Payton Prosser, works at the nearby Crocodylus Park, which provides the animals for the day's races.
He said a large straight stretch of concrete at the front of the tavern provided the ideal track for the ancient predators, because crocs "slip out" when faced with a corner.
"But hopefully on this straight they'll do pretty good."
He said the day at the races was a chance to let his hair down and "spend the day out at the pub with a couple of my favourite crocodiles".
Among Tuesday's winners was Tracy McMorrow, who was visiting from Melbourne. She will now return one beer carton richer after her croc placed first.
"It's much better than the Melbourne Cup. I actually won money," she said.
With hot and humid conditions taking hold across the territory, Mr Sloan said the event went off without a hitch.
"The crocodiles have been preparing hard all weekend, the track work's been good, it's a lovely day today, the track's firm so I think it's perfect racing conditions for the saltwater crocodiles," he said.
Frogs beat the heat to race in Noonamah
Nearby at the Noonamah Pub, a big crowd gathered to watch the annual frog races.
The event has been running since the mid-1980s, but according to organiser Tony Innes, finding enough green tree frogs this year was a challenge.
"Two weeks ago there were plenty of storms, rain and frogs everywhere, but the last 10 days has been extremely hot, dry and they've all gone hiding," he said.
"As of yesterday, we only had 14 frogs, we needed 24, and thought we'd have to modify the race and have a few scratchings.
"But then we put the word out and the locals went looking and came through with the goods."
Mr Innes said since 2005 the frog races at Noonamah had raised over $200,000 for various charities.
