Summer Racing Fashion Guide 2017 SummerRacingFashionGuide2017PDFDOWNLOAD | Page 60

ABOUT RACING Is Betting Ladylike? M any racecourses offer rules relating to dress code – but here we attempt to answer a point they have missed in their guide- lines: is it ladylike to bet at the races?! Few who have ever watched the film My Fair Lady will forget Eliza Doolittle egging on her horse at Royal Ascot in its run-up to the finishing post: “Come on, Dover! Come on, Dover! Move your bloomin' arse!”, apparently demonstrating the epitome of unladylike behaviour at the epitome of occasions for which the most ladylike behaviour was – and still is – called for. Although her coach, professor Henry Higgins could not control her language on that occasion, you can bet he had not allowed her to have her own flutter on the horse! So who do we look to for guidance? John Warren, racing manager for Her Majesty The Queen has said she never bets on her own horses, although apparently on Derby Day there is a sweepstake in the Royal Box, where everyone, including The Queen, puts in £1 (the winner gets about £16) – so she is not averse to a gentle gamble! We have also known The Queen to jump up and down in a manner reminiscent of Eliza when cheering on her horses at the races. So we feel that having a gentle punt and cheering on your horse during the race could be acceptable – but presumably only if done in a ladylike way… William Hanson from The English Manner, when asked in The Telegraph newspaper to define being a lady, responded: “It’s all about elegance and confidence.” So, to give you confidence when placing your bet at the races, here is our super-quick guide: WHERE TO BET: The Betting Ring This area of the racecourse is a jungle of independent bookmakers who will price up the runners in each race. 60 even Dobbin The Three-Legged Horse has been known to play a blinder on occasion. So, we say: you have as much chance of picking a winner if you: a) pick your favourite number b) pick your favourite colours or c) pick your favourite name. YOUR STAKE Your stake is the money you gamble. The minimum stake at a racecourse is generally £5 – bear in mind that the £5 punt is referred to as ‘The Ladies Bet’ and as with many other racing rituals, the ‘unwritten rule’ is that a £5 bet is okay for a lady, but for a bloke, anything less than £10 is not particularly manly. Also, note, you don’t get extra brownie points by betting more than £5 or £10 on a race. WHICH TYPE OF BET? Their prices will vary so hunt around for the best value for your horse. The Tote This will give you a price according to demand rather than opinion. This is a pool-betting system where the amount paid in forms a 'pool' and winners are payed out equally from that (minus the Tote's commission). So the more money in the pool, the greater your winnings will be. Online Most betting companies now have apps and websites where you can easily place a bet using your mobile phone… set up an account in advance, and placing a deposit in advance is a great way to set the limits on your betting kitty for the day. The simplest way to bet is to pick a horse and bet on it to ‘win’ (aka ‘on the nose’) or ask for ‘each way’, i.e. to win or to be placed (check how many places your bookie will pay out for – it varies according to how many horses are in the race). Note, if you are betting £5 to ‘win’ you hand over £5 to the bookie. If you are betting £5 ‘each way’ you hand over £10, as an each way bet counts as two bets (a ‘win’ bet plus a ‘place’ bet). To place your bet you’ll need to tell the bookie: • • • The horse’s name and number The type of bet Your stake. ARE YOU FEELING LADYLIKE YET? Hopefully you will now be feeling confident about placing a bet at the races and maybe Lady Luck will favour you. To maximise your chances of keeping WHICH HORSE TO BET ON? your betting ladylike we recommend you Betting is gambling and a gamble is decide how much money you are willing predicting an unknown outcome. You can to lose, stick to it, and then any wins are do all the research in the world and it will a bonus. come to nothing if on the day your horse The bit about elegance we will have to has woken up in a bad mood. Equally, leave to you…! SUMMER RACING FASHION GUIDE 2017 ECLIPSEMAGAZINE.CO.UK • RECOMMENDED FOR RACEGOERS Stockists This magazine has been compiled in conjunction with the following stockists, designers and retailers: Alexis Carballosa Ana Bella Millinery Barrus Beauty Product Online Bee Smith Accessories (Etsy) Boots Bunting and Bows (Etsy) Cashmere Rebel Chester Barrie Coast CocoRose London Cogg Millinery (Etsy) Coral Turner Couture Cosima Crafts (Etsy) Damsel in a Dress Debenhams Dewerstone (Etsy) Dower & Hall Dunmore Scotland (Etsy) East Clothing Edblad via Nordic Agencies Elizabeth Rose Shoes GB (Etsy) Emily Alice Ball (Etsy) Etsy.com Eve's Crafts (Etsy) Forever Unique frumpy to funky Geox Grey Goose Hampergifts Harvey-Smith Leather (Etsy) Harvy Santos Hats by Cressida (Etsy) Hobbs House of Fraser K&K LABS (Etsy) Leather Worldstore (Etsy) Joanne Edwards Hats (Etsy) John Lewis Johnny's Sister (Etsy) Joules Justin Duance (Etsy) Kirsty Gadd (Etsy) Laura Aspit Livens Links of London Little Black Dress Louise Rose Couture (Etsy) Love Umbrellas (Etsy) Maggie Mowbray (Etsy) Mandarina Shoes Marks and Spencer Monic Millinery (Etsy) Nanucks Forest Crafts (Etsy) New & Lingwood Nico Didonna Nigel Rayment Boutique Omar Mansoor Ong Oaj Pairam Onyx Collectables (Etsy) Ostentatia (Etsy) Parkville (Etsy) Pastel Gems (Etsy) Paul Ven Fox (Etsy) PRINTED COPIES Phase Eight of this Summer Racing Pierre et Juliette (Etsy) Fashion Guide magazine are Red Ruby Rose (Etsy) available from Refractoptics (Etsy) www.EclipseMagazine.co.uk, Richard James priced £5.99 each plus £2 p&p. River Island Annual subscription costs £8 Russell & Bromley and includes a printed copy Shubumi Style (Etsy) plus exclusive subscriber Simon Carter bonuses. Star Crossed Beauty (Etsy) Steven Harkin HandBags (Etsy) St Ives Silk Art (Etsy) Suzannah The Crystal Shoe Co. (Etsy) Truly Venusian (Etsy) Vantage Jewellery (Etsy) Vassi8 Virginia Hayward Hampers William Chambers ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With thanks to our photographers who every year manage to capture fabulously dressed racegoers and stunning scenes at the racecourses: Ian Yates, Rachel Groom, Charlotte Houlbrook and Sara Waterson. And huge thanks to all the racegoers featured who agreed to pose for the Eclipse Magazine photographers. Prices and links correct at time of going to print. All text and design of this Guide are copyright of Eclipse Magazine Ltd 2017. Images are also copyright of Eclipse Magazine Ltd or their respective copyright owners. 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