Glamourous racegoers have braved the rain to flock to Aintree racecourse today (Friday) for the Grand National Festival's Ladies Day.<br /><br />Flamboyant outfits including a jacket made out of leaves and jaw-dropping headwear were the order of the day as 50,000 fans entered the gates from 10.30am onwards.<br /><br />Racegoers kept up the traditional standards despite the newly relaxed casual dress code at the Merseyside course, where the temperature reached highs of just 8C.<br /><br />This year's Grand National festival will see £3.47million in prize money paid out.<br /><br />Punters are expected to wage £150million on races, while thirsty race fans will have to fork out £7.50 a pint.<br /><br />The event is part of the three-day Grand National Festival and is known for being one the biggest events in the social calendar.<br /><br />Around 150,000 people will be attending the three-day race meeting while over 600 million people worldwide are expected to watch Saturday's showpiece steeplechase.<br /><br />Liverpool's fashion boutiques are also expecting a 600% rise in fake tan purchases and a 65% uplift in fake eyelash purchases before the event.<br /><br />Noble Yeats won the race with Sam Waley-Cohen last year, in his last ever race before retirement.
