As ladies — and gentlemen — prepare to descend on Southwell for one of the regions hottest events, we’ve heard all about what makes Ladies Day so special.

Now in its 17th year, the Advertiser Ladies Day, taking place at Southwell Racecourse on Sunday, August 17, is called the “jewel in the racing calendar’s crown” and it’s not hard to see why — combining all the glitz and glamour of Ladies Day with a exciting full racecard.

The 2024 Ladies Day brought a record crowd of more than 9,000 people, and the team hope that this year’s event will be better than ever, with several new hospitality packages added including The Paddock Club, Seafood and Champagne Lawn, and Trackside Picnic Lawn packages.

Also this year will be an Arabian horse racing event to take place at the end of the day’s racing.

We’ve spoken to Mark Clayton, racecourse director, ahead of this year’s event, which Mark said has continued to grow over the years to become one of the biggest highlights in the region’s racing calendar.

“As an event, it’s our biggest race in the calendar and as the racecourse has developed and progressed, Ladies Day has along with it,” he said.

“Over the years we’ve managed to keep a similar date in the diary and the weather gods have always been fairly kind to us and it’s always on a Sunday, so everyone still flocks in and goes to work on Monday with a sore head, but people do enjoy it. It’s a day that keeps growing.”

Last year’s event saw a race against time to get the venue up and running again after catastrophic flooding caused by Storm Babet over the weekend of October 20 and 21, 2023, when the nearby River Greet overflowed and flooded areas of the racecourse with as much as three feet of water.

Incredibly, racing returned on November 24 — however the track was only able to open its first-floor facilities to owners and trainers, stable staff, and a number of annual members while the damage to the racecourse was repaired.

The course re-opened to its full capacity at the beginning of August last year, just a few weeks before the 2024 Ladies Day event.

“It’s a day which has seen some changes over the years,” Mark said, “Last year we had a record crowd, the third we’ve had since I came here in 2014, and our new race packages will offer something for everyone.”

To get the party started, this year’s event will see a DJ playing 90s and 00s classics from the grandstand before the racing begins, and after the final race of the day. Southwell Racecourse has lined up a live 80s music show so race-goers can dance the night away.

Mark said that this year, the aim for Ladies Day was to generally make sure everyone is having a good time:

“Last year we were very busy and this year we want to bring the fun back and we will be changing the music and going for a live 80s music explosion, so it will be live performances on stage belting out some bangers.

“We’ll have the music before with a DJ playing music from the grandstand and have lots going on to lighten the atmosphere and make sure everyone is having fun.”

After last year’s aforementioned record-breaking crowds, it was announced last month that more toilets will be available for female guests in order to reduce queue times, and the racecourse will be working in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police to host a police presence on the day in and around the crowd.

“We’ve given great consideration to the set up — last year the crowds were large and and it gave us quite a few operational challenges, which we will be responding to with more toilets and a police presence during the day,” Mark said.

“We’re delighted with this partnership with Nottinghamshire Police and by increasing our infrastructure, we can ensure people have a good time.”

As always, there will also be a £500 cash prize for the most stylishly dressed race-goer, and Mark said that seeing all guests dressed to the nines is “really a site to behold.”

“It’s like a mini Royal Ascot,” Mark added, “It’s always so great to see people make such an effort with their outfits, it’s all part and parcel of the event.

“I love to see people taking part in the Style Awards, with the ladies’ hats and fascinators which add that bit of class and colour — they’re all pieces to the puzzle that makes the event what it is and the esteem everyone holds it in.”

Hospitality packages and general admission tickets for Advertiser Ladies Day are available at www.southwell racecourse.co.uk

As well as being a day full of glitz and glamour, the major social event is also a key fundraising opportunity with a local charity chosen to benefit from the event, and for the second year running, Reach Learning Disability is the chosen charity of this year’s Advertiser Ladies Day.

An organisation which helps enrich the lives of adults with learning disabilities, with bases in Newark, Southwell, and Mansfield, a spokesman for Reach said that they were “honoured” to be chosen again as the Ladies Day charity partner.

“Last year when we went with Reach it was a great success,” Mark said, “They’re a good bunch and they do a lot of work in and around Southwell and it’s fantastic to work with them and raise much-needed funds for them.”