I am a very regular race goer and I was at Aintree on Thursday. A few misconceptions on this thread should be challenged. There is no dress code in the less expensive areas of the course. People can wear what they want and they do. The temperature on Thursday was about 9 degrees but felt more like 5 degrees. I saw countless women without coats or any cover up at all. I do fail to see what is smart about this but they are not obliged to wear a jacket. Many girls and women had bare legs. Some of the fake tans were poorly done but if they don't care, then that's fine.
Some of the shoes worn are towering. Hard work but lots of them get taken off. In the less expensive areas I saw Chanel bags. They were not fake. People may be working class, but there was some serious money on show. I also saw a woman in a gold, long, sequinned evening dress. I cannot understand why anyone would wear this to a horse racing event. However, for many, Horses have nothing to do with their day out. People do not watch the racing, have no idea which horses are running in what. If people want to pay huge sums to sit in a bar and get drunk, they can.
Sadly racecourses only have themselves to blame by handing out prizes to women who look like they are going to a wedding in June or Royal Ascot. On a cold day, it is easy to wear a smart coat and a less extravagant hat with lower heeled shoes. The smarter Liverpool girls had done just this but they didn't get photographed.
We are definitely going again next year. Fortunately, the racing is brilliant with some of the very best horses taking part. I don't really care what people look like but it is easy to look smart at Aintree by wearing a coat then there are no worries over larger sizes, fake tans, boobs hanging out, extra short skirts or any other fashion problems. I think it is a shame that there is a "fashion" pantomime going on that detracts from the real stars - the amazing horses.