So - members of the sporting community think its sacrilege for women to swan about in fashionable attire as horses race in the background (for in the background they most definitely are), do they? Well, I for one, think it’s cool.
Australia is a sporting nation but with almost every other sport, women get cast aside - shunted to a cheerleader’s outfit or a cold seat on the sidelines. But with the races, we practically have complete run of the place.
Spring Carnival! Fashions on the Field! Lawn parties! Make-up tents! Champagne! Vegetarian pies! Could it be any more female oriented?
The whole reason racing turned into a frilly sport was to attract women for more dollars. Effectively, if you’re marketing a product (in this case, horse racing) only to men, you’re cutting out 50 per cent of the population.
So in order for them to make extra dosh and lure women out in their Saturday finest, not only giving us a great excuse to dress up during the day (we love that) but men something to look at besides the horses, they had to lay out the fashion bait, didn’t they?
And now a few die hard sportsfans are complaining about fashion getting more tout than the horses. Well, toss that. Other sporting codes would kill to have the same male/female appeal that racing has created. We can’t exactly swan about in a fascinator at the cricket now, can we? Nor don a fringed flapper number for the rugby.
And I bet you won’t see as many good looking fillies cheering at the AFL (too bloody cold for one thing). No. It’s only the races where we flock in mildly skimpy outfit.
And don’t tell me you don’t love it. Men benefit as much as the women when it comes to fashion on the field.
Sure, some girls’ outfits are more suited to a nightclub and okay, others can end up looking less than their best as they traipse home, but those are few and far between. Don’t tell me men don’t get carried away sometimes. You guys paint your faces at the rugby.
Admittedly, not much horse racing is watched by women through the course of the day. I can’t actually remember the last time I saw a horse if you want to know the truth and the only time I won (a measly amount) I was so caught up in the having of the fun that I forgot to pick it up.
But so what? We’re only interested in the actual Melbourne Cup race, forget the rest.
The main reason we’re there is to have fun with our friends in a fabulous new dress, spanky hat that we never get to wear anywhere else, and of course, to look at all the men.
That’s right, men may think they’re the ones perving at us but it’s actually the opposite. See, at the races, people from all walks of life, all various suburbs, all demographics come together. There’s no better pick up ground. So while you concentrate on the sport and which horse won what, we’re just having the time of our lives.
You’ve got chicks in pretty frocks and men in sharp suits, en masse, in the one place. What the hell were you arguing about again?
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