Advertiser Ladies Day : Thousands flock to Southwell Racecourse

A crowd of more than 8,500 people were at Southwell Racecourse yesterday for Advertiser Ladies Day.

It was the second successive year that the number of people coming through the turnstiles had exceeded that number.

The event opened at 11am and ran until 7pm just after tribute act The Take That Experience.

As usual with Ladies Day, there was a wide range of different outfits, hats and shoes on show and right towards the end of the afternoon, the prizes for best dressed lady were handed out.

First prize was awarded to Charmaine Lambert, from Mansfield, second place to Lucy Davies, from Southwell, and third place to Laura Heron, from Leicestershire.

As for the racing itself, the well-backed favourite Art Of Payroll won the feature race of the day, the Vivienne Squires Trophy Handicap Chase for jockey Noel Fehily and trainer Harry Fry, one of three runners in the race for the trainer from Dorset.

Executive director Mark Clayton said: "We are thrilled with how today has gone as a racecourse on many levels.

"Firstly, it was a second time in a row that the racecourse has seen a crowd of 8,500 plus on this day, which was fantastic.

"We got the opportunity once again to work with some prestigious local sponsors and we would like to thank them all very much for their continued support of the day.

"In addition, the new packages which were on sale this year, such as the Trackside Lawn, seemed to go down extremely well and hopefully they can develop and be as strong again in 2018."

More information on fixtures at Southwell Racecourse can be found at www.southwell-racecourse.co.uk or by calling 01636 814481