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Fascinating
An experiment well worth trialling on the High Street
Blue denim trousers – orange sticker
Nike, Gola, The North Face – red paintball
Replica soccer shirts – death by lethal injectionAscot leads, others follow
Could you increase the sentence if you happened to see them in a vehicle towing a caravan?
Fascinating
An experiment well worth trialling on the High Street
Blue denim trousers – orange sticker
Nike, Gola, The North Face – red paintball
Replica soccer shirts – death by lethal injectionAscot leads, others follow
Could you increase the sentence if you happened to see them in a vehicle towing a caravan?
Towing a caravan already is (or, at least, should be) a Capital Offence
I’m all for looking smart but an own goal from Ascot for me!
I went to a quiet Ripon meeting last year (a lovely course) with the Wife. With it being a quiet one I told her we would do it in style and go in the ‘posh’ enclosure.
I wasn’t allowed in because I had a pair of jeans on! I did have jeans on, but a pair of shoes and a shirt and in my opinion was ‘smart’ enough to go in there. I certainly looked a lot better than a lot of people I saw in there!
The result of that though, is I will never go to Ripon again…
I fear this stunt from Ascot will put people off and that can only be a bad thing…
This thing people have with jeans baffles me. A pair of trousers is a pair of trousers (style-wise) so what they are discriminatory against is the material and colour (denim and blue). Completely illogical.
Exactly the same trouser
Black polyester – fine
grey cotton – fine
blue denim – go homeIt is a form of snobbery IMO and I’m afraid, for all that Ascot has many fantastic plus points, you do get the feeling that some of those who run it would just much rather keep it to themselves and that the rest of us riff-raff would just bu**er off out of it.
I suppose this is really a question to the gentlemen of the forum, but would you go for a formal job interview wearing jeans?
This thing people have with jeans baffles me. A pair of trousers is a pair of trousers (style-wise) so what they are discriminatory against is the material and colour (denim and blue). Completely illogical.
Exactly the same trouser
Black polyester – fine
grey cotton – fine
blue denim – go homeIt is a form of snobbery IMO and I’m afraid, for all that Ascot has many fantastic plus points, you do get the feeling that some of those who run it would just much rather keep it to themselves and that the rest of us riff-raff would just bu**er off out of it.
Blue denim is historically working attire, akin to overalls, which has been high-jacked as a form of fashion statement in some quarters. I would no more wear blue denim in public than I would a pair of working overalls – so I can relate to why some racecourses would want to ban it from certain enclosures.
I also have no problem with strict dress codes at courses which have multiple enclosures, indeed I wish more would do so.
There is a case for not having a strict dress code in single enclosure courses but where there is a choice of enclosures then people can pay their money and take their choice.
Ascot is being castigated for its dress code but at "normal" meetings the jacket and tie rule only applies to the Premier Enclosure – if customers do not want to wear a jacket and / or tie then they can go in the Grandstand Enclosure which still offers viewing of the parade ring and the racing and at less cost than the Premier Enclosure, what’s the problem?
I wonder how much of the criticism being directed at Ascot is because it is Ascot and it is the good old politics of envy coming to the fore – a form of reverse snobbery?
I don’t see too much venom and vitriol being directed towards Thirsk, for example, who have had a compulsory tie rule in their Premier enclosure for years which is enforced without exception.
This thing people have with jeans baffles me. A pair of trousers is a pair of trousers (style-wise) so what they are discriminatory against is the material and colour (denim and blue). Completely illogical.
It’s a case of gross over-familiarity breeding utter contempt. What ‘style’ there once was associated with the wearing of blue jeans has been long lost as its become the everyday automatic choice of most. Comfort blending with the crowd
How we laugh at that monochrome footage of yesteryear with all from dukes to dustmen wearing the regulation two or three-piece suit. Denim is the 21st century suit and should therefore be ridiculed too
The original twilled-serge indigo-dyed Levi 501 is an iconic trouser with both style and infinitely more importantly class, that I’ve enjoyed wearing for 40 years. When circumstances dictate I should: lunchtime in the pub, when in
boulevardier
mode on the seafront in Scarborough, or when lassoing longhorns
Black Polyester
in York of course3642 posts and you still take my words seriously Cormack. Nice
Ascot to refund after dress code debacle
ASCOT has announced that it will refund all premier enclosure customers following its public relations blunder on Saturday when racegoers who did not conform to the track’s strict new dress code had to wear an orange sticker.
Ascot chief executive Charles Barnett said on Sunday morning: "It is clear that we let down many of our premier enclosure customers yesterday with a well intentioned but misguided policy.
"No customers should be expected to pay for such an experience and we have taken the view that all premier enclosure visitors yesterday will receive a full refund.
"We have worked very hard for many years to establish ourselves as a benchmark for customer service and are making this statement today to reinforce that wewill not allow our reputation as a welcoming sports venue to be tarnished by an isolated lack of judgement on our part.
"We will work through the logistics of the refunds tomorrow. Most people will have booked in advance or paid by card on the day but we will look after cash customers too and anyone who still has their admission badge should hold onto it."
The new rules, which require male premier ticket holders to wear a jacket and tie, were not being enforced, meaning racegoers who failed to comply were not being turned away.
However, the stickers being handed out on the way to the enclosure areas effectively served to identify dress that would be unacceptable to the course at future meetings.
Speaking on Radio 5 live on Sunday morning, new BHA chief executive Paul Bittar said: "I was at Ascot yesterday and the hospitality and customer offerings are world class. The course have apologised andthey recognise they made a mistake. I hope it is an incident that we can move on from."
RP Website
Blue denim is historically working attire, akin to overalls, which has been high-jacked as a form of fashion statement in some quarters. I would no more wear blue denim in public than I would a pair of working overalls – so I can relate to why some racecourses would want to ban it from certain enclosures.
I also have no problem with strict dress codes at courses which have multiple enclosures, indeed I wish more would do so.
There is a case for not having a strict dress code in single enclosure courses but where there is a choice of enclosures then people can pay their money and take their choice.
Ascot is being castigated for its dress code but at "normal" meetings the jacket and tie rule only applies to the Premier Enclosure – if customers do not want to wear a jacket and / or tie then they can go in the Grandstand Enclosure which still offers viewing of the parade ring and the racing and at less cost than the Premier Enclosure, what’s the problem?
I wonder how much of the criticism being directed at Ascot is because it is Ascot and it is the good old politics of envy coming to the fore – a form of reverse snobbery?
I don’t see too much venom and vitriol being directed towards Thirsk, for example, who have had a compulsory tie rule in their Premier enclosure for years which is enforced without exception.
Bang on Paul, absolutely bang on. If you don’t want to stick to the dress code don’t buy the related tickt, buy a different enclosure. Simple.
I do dislike Ascot, I always feel the whole attitude of every staff member is about them and the brand rather than about their customers. However, in this case I think the only things they did wrong was not publicise the new rules enough and not turn away people who didn’t stick to them.
Ascot to refund after dress code debacle
Speaking on Radio 5 live on Sunday morning, new BHA chief executive Paul Bittar said: "I was at Ascot yesterday and the hospitality and customer offerings are world class. The course have apologised andthey recognise they made a mistake. I hope it is an incident that we can move on from."
RP Website
Hey Paul, the hospitality and customer offerings (
) might be world-class but the service to racing spectators and punters certainly isn’t. Try going and paying on the gate next time and ask a few members of staff for help. Ask them to get the speakers turned-up because you can’t hear the commentry, ask them two hours before the start of racing if you can pop into the parade ring to take a photo of the Yeats statue, inform one of the cleaners there is no soap in the Gents toilets … see how customer-focussed they are.Ironically, Ascot’s Premier Enclosure allows ‘smart jeans’. Who judges what ‘smart’ means is another matter. That also applies to their DC for under 17s who are encouraged to ‘adhere’ to the adult dress code "except for very young children": what age is a ‘very young’ child? 2, 4, 6, 8, 10?
Racing in general is working very hard to attract new people. Are they all expected to know they should pre-check the dress code? If you’d never been to a sporting event before, would you expect there to be a dress code? (A loaded question in some ways as racing prepares you for such thoughts)
Does the Olympics have a dress code? the Superbowl? The FA Cup final? Wimbledon? Does The Open Golf Championship have a dress code (in perhaps the most fastidious sport of all?) (the answer is – no, they don’t according to the website)
Racing must decide if it wants to live and market itself in a ‘modern’ fashion. Use of the words ‘attired’ and ‘adhere’ are, to my mind, Victorian expressions.
Dress codes and, indeed, enclosures themselves ought to be abolished. By all means charge extra for stand seats, or access to specialist facilities but the only fences on racecourses should be built from birch.
Lets face it, there are a lot of people who have no concept of how to dress themselves for any occasion. I cannot see that some constructive advice on self-presentation is inappropriate if people have no idea to the purpose of a mirror. Some of us have friends that perform the service if making a faux pas, but if one’s social circle is full of scrits where else will they learn?
I don’t have much in the way of dress sense, avoid mirrors like the plague these days and don’t have a social circle. Perhaps I’d better stop going racing…..
Perhaps Ascot should have adopted a more sensitive approach viz;
in York of course
) might be world-class but the service to racing spectators and punters certainly isn’t. Try going and paying on the gate next time and ask a few members of staff for help. Ask them to get the speakers turned-up because you can’t hear the commentry, ask them two hours before the start of racing if you can pop into the parade ring to take a photo of the Yeats statue, inform one of the cleaners there is no soap in the Gents toilets … see how customer-focussed they are.
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