12 fearless women, 40mph racehorses & the world's most beautiful racecourse - there can be only one winner.
Now in its seventh year, this renowned charity event presents riders who are leading women from a variety of industries, some with little or no experience of racing, to take part in the opening race of Ladies' Day, at one of the most exciting and glamorous horse racing events in the world.
Sporting stunning bespoke silks designed especially for the occasion by prominent female fashion designers, this event taking place on Ladies' Day, Thursday, August 3, is as exhilarating as it is stylish. Raising money this year for Place2Be, this highly anticipated race has already raised over £1 million for charity from the previous six runnings
The female riders are all inspirational women form a variety of different backgrounds and industries such as sport, business and journalism. None of the riders are licensed jockeys and in some cases are learning to ride a horse from scratch making this achievement that extra bit special.
The riders in 2017 are: Emily Baxendale, Shadi Halliwell, Dido Harding, Izzy Taylor, Victoria Gray, Alby Bailey, Camilla Swift, Charlotte Hogg, Sarah Ayton, Georgie Lane-Godfrey, Aly Vance & Clare Salmon.
Sporting Silks: The Fashion Designers
Every year the competition for the most attractive silks adds a high dose of glamour to the event, with renowned fashion designers adding flair to the riders' outfits which are designed especially for this race. The silks have to cover some thick body protectors, so the challenge is to produce an outfit that is loose, yet looks suitably chic.
This year's silk designers are Amanda Wakeley, Annoushka, Bella Freud, Ellie Lines, Featherstone Frocks, Tabitha Webb, Kate Halfpenny, Olivia Von Halle, Suzannah, Mercy Delta, Radish and Celicia Wilson.
Place2Be - Our chosen charity for 2017
Place2Be are the UK's leading children's mental health charity providing in-school support and expert training to improve the emotional well-being of pupils, families, teachers and school staff. Founded in 1994, they have school-based teams across England, Scotland and Wales and are now working in over 280 schools reaching a school population of approximately 116,000 children across some of the most disadvantaged areas of the UK.
Place2Be provide a 'whole-school' approach with a flexible menu of services that support pupils, families, teachers and school staff. This includes one-to-one counselling, a self-referral service and group work to meet the individual needs of children aged 4-14, helping them to cope with wide-ranging and often complex social issues including bullying, bereavement, domestic violence, family breakdown, neglect and trauma.
They also provide a range of high quality professional qualifications for those seeking to enhance their skills or to become a children's counsellor as well as well-respected training for professionals working with children and families.
If you would like to donate to the charity and support all of the excellent work that they are doing then please visit the Virgin Money Donations Page and help us make this year's total the highest yet.
A special thanks goes to our presenting partner, Swarovski, and our racehorse sponsors BGC, Brit Insurance, Bowers & Wilkins, Harrods, L'Ormarins Queen's Plate, P J Brown, QiO, Wirsol Energy, Tess Turner and the Materna Foundation who are supporting the race and the charity this year.
