The Grand National is one of the true highlights on the sporting calendar and tens of thousands of racegoers travel to Aintree racecourse on an annual basis to see the oldest and most prestigious race in the sport. The four mile, 30 fence course is one of the most unforgiving races in horse racing and there is sure to be plenty of exhilarating action on the track throughout the three-day meeting.
This year, the leading contender is Many Clouds. Leighton Aspell’s mount romped to victory last year and he is currently the 14/1 favourite with Coral to succeed again. In fact, Aspell has won the main event in each of the last two years and plenty of punters will be taking the Grand National odds on the Many Clouds/Leighton Aspell duo to strike and succeed once again.
However, fashion is becoming a key component of almost every horse racing festival – and rightly so. The likes of Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood started to set the trend for racegoers to dress smartly for major festivals and the likes of Cheltenham Festival and Aintree’s Grand National meeting have followed in their footsteps. While they don’t have a strict dress code, Aintree advise all racegoers to dress well – especially on National day.
While we’re not advising you to go out and buy a £500 Armani suit, you should dress smartly for the races. After all, it’s just one day of the year and your crew will look sharp if you turn up donning the finest gear. Nowadays, it’s almost essential to dress well at the races or else you will stand out. On the general enclosure, you may get away with a shirt and trousers but jeans are almost certainly a no-go anywhere on the racecourse.
Now, we haven’t forgotten about the ladies. In fact, it could be argued that dressing up at the races is more important for women. Dresses and suits are smart options and plenty of Liverpool’s finest ladies will be dressed up for this year’s event – so mark April 9th in your calendar. While you can’t get Grand National odds on Aintree’s ‘Best Dressed’ award, you can keep up with the latest information and news via Coral’s website.
So if you’re out with the lads, dress smart. If you’re out with the girls, dress smart. And if you’re out with your partner, DRESS SMART. It’s one day of the year and National day is simply sensational. If you want to enjoy and be part of the full Grand National experience, get your finest suits and dresses out, shine your shoes and make sure all eyes are on you on National day – you never know, you could be a winner both on and off the course!
