Next up: Festival Stakes Day, Sat 28 Nov
Date to be announced · Thanksgiving Day
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, New Orleans, United States
major
A New Orleans institution: locals put on their biggest, loudest and most outlandish hats and their best suits, go to the races, then go home for turkey.
what to wear
No current written dress code found on fairgroundsracecourse.com (read 2026-11-13). A Fair Grounds vice president told WWL the old clubhouse rules (no short sleeves or polos, sport coat required) are gone: 'we no longer have those stringent dress codes'. Thanksgiving custom is strong: the biggest, loudest hat you own.
Encouraged
No current written code; the old sport-coat rule in the clubhouse has been dropped (per a track VP, secondary). Thanksgiving custom: suit or sport coat, bow tie, fedora or top hat, often flamboyant.
Encouraged
New Orleans dresses with humour: feathers, sequins, towering home-made hats, seersucker and second-line colour.
New Orleans late November: about 11-20 C, mild.
Thanksgiving was the track's opening day for generations (the Thanksgiving Classic passed its 100th year); hats began as a display of wealth and are now deliberately outlandish.
where you are standing
Former rules (sport coat required, no short sleeves or polos) no longer apply, per a track vice president quoted by WWL/Audacy. No replacement code found.
Check the official details before you go: fairgroundsracecourse.com ↗
for the day
Wendy Scully Millinery
Pink Tweed Fabric Percher
$285
Wendy Scully Millinery
Teal Green Silk Flower Headpiece
$244
Elliatt
Katarina Short Sleeve Midi Dress in Pastel Multi
$278
Elliatt
Emelda Halter Midi Dress in Blue Floral
$268
Beginning Boutique
Rosalia Aqua Strappy Peep Toe Wedge
$69.99
SHEIKE
KIANA HEEL
$79.99
Jin Dian
Maisie Floral Shoulder Bag in Pink Sequin
$59.95
BB Exclusive
Quinta Burgundy Bow Sequin Bag
$69.99
save the date
majorFri 13 Nov 2026
Rashid Equestrian & Horseracing Club, Sakhir (Riffa)
Bahrain's Group 1 night and the kingdom's main social race meeting. The Bahrain Turf Club publishes no dress code; national dress or smart, modest evening wear is the norm.
majorFri 13 Nov 2026
Addington Raceway, Christchurch
The Friday public-holiday harness meeting of Cup Week: a dressed-up crowd, looser than Cup Day.
