Thanks to a successful "burgers for votes" campaign, combined with a competition for part ownership of Man Of His Word, an Aussie battler will run and compete for a share in the richest mile horse race in the world on March 16.

Key points: Man of his Word garnered 5,135 online votes to earn a spot in the All Star Mile field

Man of his Word garnered 5,135 online votes to earn a spot in the All Star Mile field The winner of the race stands to win $2.25 million

The winner of the race stands to win $2.25 million Former Melbourne Cup-winning horses Rekindling and Almandin missed out on selection

When Racing Victoria announced the public would decide 10 of the horses that would make up the All Star Mile field, few expected that a horse bought for just $10,000, whose best result was a placing at group two level, would make the cut.

But that's exactly what happened.

"We set ourselves a task. A few people laughed early days and said it couldn't be done, but we went out and told the owners we thought we could get their horse in," Grand Syndicates racing manager Sam Lyons said.

"It's going to be a nice pay day for them wherever they finish."

Even if The Man — as he's called at the stables — finishes last, the 20 owners stand to win a share of $90,000 of the total $5 million prize pool.

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The best scenario for the 20 owners, consisting of retirees, office workers and a plasterer, is first prize and a share of $2.25 million.

"He's owned by very much normal people. No sheiks or princes. The Queen doesn't own him," Lyons laughed.

So how did Grand Syndicates attain a place in the big race for their relatively unknown horse? The answer is cheeseburgers.

A former owner of the horse offered free food at his Melbourne restaurant in exchange for votes, and the owners agreed to give up a percentage of The Man so they could offer a prize of 4.5 per cent ownership for the day.

It worked. Of the almost 140,000 votes cast online, The Man got 5,135.

Racing Victoria general manager Greg Carpenter admitted he was nervous about letting the public decide.

"You only have to look at the results of every federal and state election around Australia to know that the electorate doesn't always do what you think it's going to do, but that was part of it," Carpenter said.

If the results surprised, so did some of the social media activity around nominees.

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Comedian John Cleese publicly supported the horse Manuel, named after the Fawlty Towers character played by the late Andrew Sachs, with a series of tweets asking his 5.6 million followers to vote if they were in Australia.

The huge celebrity endorsement means that it is likely the vote will go global in 2020.

No place for Cup winners in All Star field

Of the 130 eligible horses nominated, the racing powerhouse of Lloyd and Nick Williams had seven horses in the running, including two former Melbourne Cup winners.

None of their horses garnered enough votes from the public, meaning big-name Cup winners Rekindling and Almandin missed out.

Rekindling (nearest camera) won the 2017 Melbourne Cup, but the star of Flemington has missed out on a spot in the All Star Mile. ( AAP: Tracey Nearmy )

Nick Williams said their operation would approach next year's vote differently, but there were no hard feelings after missing out.

"Unlike the Everest [race] that they have in Sydney, which is only appealing to the absolute top end of racing, I like the fact that this gets people involved and some of those people will fall in love with the industry … I think this is a real opportunity for, if you like, a people's race. So, I think it's terrific," he said.

Carpenter said criticism of the standard of horses that gained entry was ironic.

"People talk about the Melbourne Cup now and say how hard it is for a battler to get into the Melbourne Cup, [and that] we should be making it easier for the great Australian dream," he said.

"Then we had the All Star Mile concept and when battlers started getting into the race at the expense of group ones, people were saying the reverse: 'They shouldn't be in the race'."

Lyons said he knew the presence of his horse and others, such as Urban Ruler ($251) and Foundry ($151), could force rule changes around eligibility for next year's race.

"I'm aware that horses like ours and our campaign will have changed the dynamics of this race going forward. Maybe we caught them off guard … but I'd look at that as a little bit of a badge of honour," he said.

The All Star Mile field: 1. Alizee (Trainer: James Cummings) 2. Mystic Journey (Trainer: Adam Trinder) 3. Happy Clapper (Trainer: Patrick Webster) 4. Hartnell (Trainer: James Cummings) 5. Amphitrite (Trainers: D and B Hayes, T Dabernig) 6. Hawkshot (Trainers: D and B Hayes, T Dabernig) 7. Grunt (Trainer: Mick Price) 8. Material Man (Trainer: Justin Warwick) 9. Moss 'n' Dale (Trainer: Peter Gelagotis) 10. Mr Money Bags (Trainer: Robbie Griffiths) 11. Foundry (Trainer: Terry Kelly) 12. Man Of His Word (Trainer: Dean Krongold) 13. Balf's Choice (Trainer: Ryan Balfour) 14. Urban Ruler (Trainer: Chris Munce)

Racing Victoria admitted it was already considering different entrance criteria for 2020.

"The requirement to get into a race like the Caulfield or Melbourne Cup is you've got to be group-placed or a listed winner … I wouldn't be taking that too far because, again, I want this to be embraced by everyone, but certainly we will look at tinkering with that," Carpenter said.

But for now, Man Of His Word's place in the race has not just fulfilled his owners' dreams, but also that of trainer Dean Krongold.

Krongold is a former employer of Lloyd Williams who cannot believe his horse beat their seven nominees to the start line.

"I'm sweating bullets, very nervous," Krongold said.

He was realistic about The Man's chances.

"I'm hoping he can feature in the first half of the field, all being well. And if he can do that, we'll be absolutely wrapped," he said.

Happy Clapper's (left) last run was coming second to Winx. Now the Patrick Webster-trained horse will be lining up in the All Star Mile. ( AAP: Simon Bullard )

It is not just about the battlers — there are stars of the turf like Hartnell, Happy Clapper (best known for coming second five times to super mare Winx) and Mystic Journey, which last week became the first Tasmanian horse in more than a century to win a Group One race on the mainland.

Still, Racing Victoria is hoping for a fairy tale.

"If one of these Cinderella-story horses from around the nation can, even if they don't win, run top three or top five, I think we'll all look back on that with a lot of fondness," Carpenter said.

Regardless of the result, Man Of His Word has already secured his 20 owners — and the two extra that won part ownership — one big day out at Flemington.