Best Dressed Ladies Competitions at the Races

convert

Given the number of threads that have been posted here over the last while regarding what clothes to wear to the races, I thought I'd post this thread and get people's opinions on this topic which was brought up in the Horse Racing forum here.

Anyway, a poster wrote the following:

I too brought my wife who dressed up in the hope of entering for best dressed ... knowing beforehand that it would no doubt be fixed again. Did they disappoint in this regard - no chance.

When we arrived about an hour and half before racing the photographers were busy taking loads of pictures of 2 or 3 ladies with one in particular getting extra attention. When the announcement came about the winner .. surprise surprise it was the lady getting the photo taken.

Her profile was a boutique owner in Portlaois. The day before's winner a boutique owner and wife of Michael Hourigan Jnr, earlier in week winner another women who's boyfriend was involved in racing. Another winner had her hat sponsored by a boutique!

Two years ago in the Curragh one of the judges - Celia Holman Lee - gave first prize to a girl who it transpired was one of her models in her agency!

This whole area is a disgrace - completely fixed. I feel sorry for all the genuine ladies who make a big effort to look good on the day. There are some big prizes here - I think the value was €20k in P'Town.

Not that it matters to me as I am there for the racing but I do think that it is another reason why ladies in particular are put off going racing. It also puts another stain on the racing industry.

What are your views on prizes being awarded to 'professionals' in these types of competitions?

Do you think it's right that they be allowed to advertise their businesses/boutiques while getting paid (by winning often a very exclusive prize) for doing so?

Would it put you off dressing up/splashing out on a new outfit for going to the races?

Would it put you off actually going to the races?

Any other comments/opinions welcome/appreciated.




Just to clarify: I'm not doing market research nor am I involved in any sponsors of best dressed ladies' competitions or with racecourses. It's just something I've thought about over the last number of years when I've seen the winning outfits, and when it was brought up in the HR forum I said I'd post here to see what other people's opinions are on it.

I also have permission from the poster to quote their post here.

And, yes, I did post this in tLL lounge a while back, and the thread can be found here but one of the mods said it'd be ok to post it here, too

fits

I attended (stupidly) one of these competitions last year. Some of the ladies I was with treated it as a professional networking day out and attended all of the best dressed competitions over the summer. One of them was a boutique owner, another married to Nama guy and this was their life. Both of them were successful on different occasions. Its a joke the whole thing.

And what is it with matching umbrellas... Not my thing at all I'm afraid.

OldGoat

Seems to me that if the same professional women are entering each and every competition that is being judged by professionals then it's inevitable that they win on occasions. Perhaps what you are seeing is that occasion when they win.
They will have (as professionals in the trade) access to a better quality and a larger variety of garments then the ordinary punter. Also they will have the rudiments of poise and bearing thus attracting the photographers. They will also be more recognisable to press photographers and get more attention.
I have no doubt that the occasional housewife punter will win but I fully expect that to be a rarity.

I can't say if the competitions are fixed or not but lets be honest here - if the choice comes down to someone wearing a designer and tailored to fit dress or someone wearing a M&S sale dress then the prize goes too...?

If there were a field of professional golfers in competition against a field of amateur golfers who would you bet on?
If there were one professional golfer in a competition with 10 amateur golfers I believe most people would still bet on the professional to win.

Pandoras Twist

I do agree with OldGoat, but to continue your analogy, professional golfers and amateur golfers would not play in the same tournaments, so I would also have to agree with the OP in that I wouldn't see the point in an unknown housewife saving up and splashing out on a new dress and shoes with a view to winning the best dressed.

By all means do it for the fun of the day thats in it, but when you're up against people with connections and publicity, I'm afraid it's just not going to happen.

Froggyplait

I think it could possibly be a big fix, I've noticed at small race courses that it's usually a relation to a jockey or a trainer that wins. But as for the dresses, I really don't think they are picked by the designer names. A few years ago, an 18 year old Navan girl won at ladys day with a dress she got at a vintage store in London that was less than 100euro. I attended Ladys day last year and a girl came up to me and said my dress had won best dressed in the Curragh a few weeks before, and that was from French connection. And this year a woman got runner-up at punchestown, wearing a purple dress she got for 20euro in Tesco. It seems to go on the status of the person these days.