Thu 7 May 2026

Boodles May Festival Ladies Day

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Boodles May Festival Ladies Day The Most Glamorous Day in Chester’s Calendar

Day two of the Boodles May Festival is Ladies Day, a chance to cheer your favourites past the finishing line and look absolutely fabulous while doing it!

Think frocks, fascinators, and fedoras at every turn. The atmosphere? Electric. The style? Unforgettable.

Don’t miss your chance to unleash your true fashionista and be in with a chance of being crowned our most stylish attendee in our Best Dressed Competition – going home with prizes that would make anyone envious! 

Schedule
Gates open
11:30 am
First race
1:50 pm
Last race
5:20 pm
The Going

Information will be available two weeks prior to the event.

Weather

Information will be available two weeks prior to the event.

Open Course Closure

The Open Course will be closed during the Boodles May Festival. Roodee guests who wish to bring a picnic and camping chairs are welcome to use the grassed area in front of Gate 9.

Tickets & Packages Find your Experience

We pride ourselves on not being just a one trick pony! So let us take the reins and show you what experiences are waiting for you. 

Highlights

Need an excuse to dress up to the nines? Our Best Dressed Competition is renowned in Chester for being the centre stage for all fashionistas. We bring out the big guns for the prizes which await for our winner, plus 2nd and 3rd place. 

Need the perfect setting to show off your Ladies Day look? We’ve got you covered! Head over to Neon Flower Wall for a chance to pose and smile in-front of our exclusive Ladies Day backdrop. 

This prestigious Group 3 race is open to horses aged four years or older and is ran over a distance of 1 mile, 5 furlongs and 84 yards. The Ladbrokes Ormonde Stakes can serve as a trial for the Coronation Cup. The last horse to win both races in the same year was St Nicholas Abbey in 2011.

BMF Ladies Day Highlights
Racecard

THE CAA STELLAR HANDICAP STAKES

Group

Class 2, 4+yo

Distance

5f 15y

Prize

£45,000

THE BRITISH STALLION STUDS EBF MAIDEN STAKES

Group

Class 2, 2yo

Distance

5f 110y

Prize

£40,000

THE BOODLES RAINDANCE DEE STAKES (Listed)

Group

Class 1, 3yo

Distance

1m 2f 70y

Prize

£100,000

THE LADBROKES ORMONDE STAKES (Group 3)

Group

Class 1, 4+yo

Distance

1m 5f 84y

Prize

£140,000

THE HANDICAP STAKES

Group

Class 2, 3yo

Distance

7f 127y

Prize

£45,000

THE HALLIWELL JONES HANDICAP STAKES

Group

Class 3, 4+yo

Distance

1m 2f 70y

Prize

£30,000

THE HANDICAP STAKES

Group

Class 3, 3yo

Distance

1m 4f 63y

Prize

£24,350

Racecard Image
Raceday FAQs

Got a question about your raceday? Don’t have a MARE – just check out our handy FAQs.

View all FAQsView all FAQs

The Open Course will be closed during the Boodles May Festival.

Roodee guests who wish to bring a picnic and camping chairs are welcome to use the grassed area in front of Gate 9.

We want you to feel fabulous in whatever you wear on a raceday but we do have certain dress codes for each enclosure. Lucky for you, we have a guide which tells you the yays or neighs!

Dress Code – Chester Racecourse

We might be switching things up with our dress code for the 2026 season – keep an eye out closer to the time for the latest info!

Need to clue up on the racing track info? Head over to the individual raceday page and find the latest updates there.

You bet they can and even better – children aged 17 and under go FREE! For general admission areas, no ticket is required but for hospitality areas, a pre-booked child ticket is needed. To do this, simply email hospitality@chester-races.com.

*Please note – children are not allowed in The Garden or Winning Post Enclosures – this is where the grown ups let their hair down!  

We’re cashless (apart from the bookmakers) For all your drinks and tasty nibbles, we accept all major debit/credit cards and Apple/Android Pay. For placing bets, cash can be used with our on-course bookmakers.