The Victoria Racing Club says crowd numbers for the four-day Melbourne Cup carnival have been better than expected amid construction work.

The decline in crowd numbers at this year's Melbourne Cup carnival has not been as bad as expected.

The Victoria Racing Club budgeted for a five to 10 per cent decline in attendance over the four race days, due to construction work for the $128 million redevelopment of the members' grandstand.

"We've actually done better than that, which is absolutely magnificent, but it's also about the experience - everyone has had a good time," VRC chairman Amanda Elliott said on Saturday.