‘It encourages mediocrity’: new dress code divides Cheltenham racegoers

L ooking across the packed stands of Cheltenham Racecourse on day one of this year’s festival, it is fair to say the usual mix of tweed suits, blazers, flat caps and feather-topped country hats dominated.

But after the Jockey Club’s decision to ease dress restrictions across its courses, there was also a noticeable increase in denim jeans and leather jackets – and even the odd tracksuit on show.

Not all were happy. “We need to keep the dress code to a certain standard,” said Dawn Leadon-Bolger, an Irish racegoer and fashionista resplendent in a pink trouser suit (with heatpads hidden underneath against the chill wind). “The jockeys and the trainers are always very well dressed and I think it’s a form of respect to them to dress smartly.”

The Jockey Club argues that changing the dress code will make racing more “accessible and inclusive”.

Leadon-Bolger, who retrains former racehorses at her base in Co Wicklow as well as promoting sustainable fashion, was not impressed. “I don’t think being allowed to wear jeans and flip-flops is going to encourage more people to racing. I think they should look at things like ticket prices,” she said.

“You don’t have to be wealthy to dress well. My suit was £30 from a car boot sale. I went to the Arc de Triomphe in an outfit for under a tenner head to toe.”

Before the opening of Cheltenham, the jockey club’s chief executive, Nevin Truesdale, said the idea was to show that racing “is for everyone”.

Actually, even before this year there was no formal dress code at Cheltenham, a unique meeting where royals rub shoulders with farmers, City types, Irish race fans and chancers taking a sneaky day off work. The edict has long been to dress appropriately for the weather.

But Truesdale said the