‘Biggest Ladies Day in recent memory’, as 1800 people flock to the track for the event’s return

Ladies’ Day has returned and the Port Hedland Turf Club’s president said it was the biggest event he could remember as 1800 people came down for the race day. With no Ladies’ Day in 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event returned this year and queues of women dressed in the finest clothing in town could be seen lining up outside the race track on Saturday July 22. Port Hedland Turf Club president Tony Barron said the event was important to the town, because given how large it is, it served as a great way for people to catch up with old friends they didn’t get to see very often. “It’s a great day for women to dress up, people to have a good day, and some of the boys went to a huge effort to make themselves seem presentable,” he said. “Because we are such a hard-working town you don’t see a lot of your old mates and women don’t see a lot of their old girlfriends all year. “But all of a sudden you see them on Ladies’ Day, which is the great thing about it.” In the races, it was a hugely successful day for jockey Rosie Mahoney who won four out of the six events, including the Ladies’ Day Cup. Jockeys Kristy Bennett and Ava Catarino won the two other races with the trainers Peter Bamford and Tom Pike respectively. The Ladies’ Day Fashions of the Field competition also made a return, with entrants gracing the stage in expensive dresses being judged on who had the best outfit. Mr Barron said the club had received great feedback for the return of the popular fashion competition. “It was a huge success just,” he said, “just from speaking to some women today they all said it was really good.” The Fashions of the Field three-judge panel declared Helena Keogh the winner. The next race day, the Hedland Cup, is on August 6 and Mr Barron said he expected 2500 people to attend.