Spotlight on ladies at races — but not furlong

It arrived in a blaze of hats, heels, and alcohol, the day women love and men love to hate — it can only be Ladies Day in Galway.

While 20,000 people would be a throng for a Ladies Day at any racecourse in Europe, in Ballybrit it’s just another day. In the West, Thursday means crowds in excess of 34,000. It’s just how they do things up in this part of the world.

Luckily, the biblical downpours of last year were replaced with glorious sunshine for the biggest day of the festival. As always, the horseracing takes somewhat of a backseat on Thursday, with women vastly outnumbering men in the hope of being picked out of the masses for Best- Dressed Lady.