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A look at the make-up of this year’s All-Star Mile field compared with past years.

It's not unfair to say the build-up to this year's All-Star Mile has not been what the Racing Victoria marketing team would have dreamt of.

RV's general manager of racing Matt Welsh last week conceded as much when he reiterated that there would be a review of the race and the way RV goes about compiling the field, stating that RV was "not too proud to make changes".

Some think the race should be run at set-weights-and-penalties, or even a handicap, but if a $4 million event at WFA doesn't appeal to some of Australasia's best milers, what hope would they be of coming for a race in which they're conceding weight to their rivals?

One tweak that could help from a PR perspective might be to not publicly announce all runners.

The wildcard element was crucial when the public vote component meant there were big names who wanted to run but were in danger of missing a start after not gathering enough votes.

But those effectively making up the numbers probably don't need a public announcement and leaving a window of intrigue around who would be in the final field might add some anticipation around who fills the final few spots in the race.

What RV should be commended for is not pursuing an extra four stocking-fillers just to have a full field of 16 at the Caulfield 1600 metres.

The 2024 edition has been described as having a long tail, but it won't be as long as previous editions.

Late on Wednesday morning, the longest-priced runner was Puntura at $61.

The outsider last year was So Si Bon at $101, with Keats the next roughest at $61, but all other All-Star Miles have had at least one runner at $151.

The 2022 edition had three, including Streets Of Avalon at $201, the previous year had Regalo Di Gaetano, Star Missile was $201 in 2020 – a year there were five others at $61 or longer – while the inaugural edition in 2019 had four horses at $151 or longer.

The lowest-rated horse on official handicapper ratings, at 98, this year is Holymanz, who is the only runner rated lower than 104.

The percentage of horses in this year's race with a handicapper rating of at least 100 is 92, which is just one down on 2021 when 14 of the 15 runners were rated 100-plus.

The inaugural edition was 73 percent, 2020 and 2022 were 80 percent, while last year was 87 percent.

Perhaps the presence of Mr Brightside  and dual Group 1 winner Pride Of Jenni, who are the only runners at single-figure odds, add to the perception of a long tail.

Six-time Group 1 winner Mr Brightside is poised to be the All-Star Mile's first odds-on favourite as he defends the crown he won last year at The Valley as a $6.50 chance.

The shortest to date is Zaaki, who won at $2.40 two years ago, while Alligator Blood owns the two next shortest quotes; $2.70 last year when fourth and $2.80 when 10th in 2020.

Mystic Journey is the other favourite to score, winning at $3.60 in 2019, while Probabeel was $3.50 favourite when 12th in 2021.

Winner of that edition was Mugatoo ($8), while Regal Power – who won the 2020 edition as an $11 chance – is the longest-priced winner in the race's five-year history.