What to Wear to the Betfred St Leger Festival 2026: A London Milliner’s Guide

From the Merve Bayindir atelier, a guide to the 250th St Leger, the Style Awards on Ladies Day, the Doncaster enclosure dress codes and five hand-made pieces for Town Moor.

Some anniversaries are worth dressing for. In 2026 the Betfred St Leger Stakes is run for the 250th time, which makes this year’s festival at Doncaster a landmark in a sport that measures its history in centuries. The St Leger is the oldest Classic in the world, the final leg of the Triple Crown and the race that closes the story of the flat season for any horse still chasing it. Four days of racing open with Ladies Day and its Style Awards, and the anniversary running itself comes on the Saturday. This is a guide to dressing for that week, written from the atelier.

The essentials: date, place and time

 

A race that began as a bet, and was named at a dinner

The St Leger did not start life as a Classic. On 24 September 1776 a small field of three-year-olds ran a two-mile sweepstake on Cantley Common, a stretch of open heathland south of Doncaster, with an entry fee of twenty-five guineas. The idea came from Lieutenant Colonel Anthony St Leger, an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician who had settled near the town and served as MP for Grimsby. The winner was a filly belonging to the second Marquess of Rockingham, usually recorded as Allabaculia.

For its first two years the race had no name at all. That was settled in 1778 at a dinner in the Red Lion Inn on Doncaster’s Market Place, where the Marquess of Rockingham proposed naming it after its founder rather than himself. The inn still stands today, now part of a pub chain, which means the oldest Classic in the world was christened in a building you can walk into and order a drink in. The race moved to Town Moor the same year and has been there ever since, shortened from two miles in 1813 to the stamina test of one mile, six furlongs and 115 yards that it remains.

The oldest Classic in the world was named at a dinner party, in a Doncaster inn that is still serving today.

Doncaster wears its age lightly. The Doncaster Cup, first run on Cantley Common in 1766, is the oldest continuing regulated horse race anywhere in the sport. The town staged the first Sunday meeting ever held on a British racecourse in 1992. Even the interruptions are part of the record: during both wars Town Moor was requisitioned for troop assembly and, later, as an airfield, so the St Leger was moved to Newmarket rather than abandoned, running under the name of the September Stakes from 1915 to 1918. Two hundred and fifty years is a long time to keep a promise to a race.

Ladies Day and the Style Awards

Ladies Day opens the festival on Thursday 10 September, and at Doncaster it is the opening day rather than the midweek centrepiece, which gives it a particular energy: the whole week is still ahead. Racegoers dress for the Style Awards, and the racing is worth knowing about too, with the May Hill Stakes and the Park Hill Stakes both run that afternoon. The Park Hill has a neat link to the founder, taking its name from the estate south of Doncaster that Anthony St Leger owned. As with the race headwear worn at Ascot or the derby headwear at Epsom, a considered piece is what separates a good outfit from a winning one.

The Doncaster dress code, enclosure by enclosure

Doncaster sets its code by enclosure. The Grandstand and Picnic enclosures have no formal dress code, asking only that guests avoid sports team shirts and offensive fancy dress. The County Enclosure is smarter without being strict: gentlemen wear a collared shirt with smart trousers or unripped jeans, ladies wear smart attire, and sportswear is not permitted, though many guests dress well beyond the minimum on feature days. The Premier Enclosure and the Home Straight Restaurant hold the real code, requiring a jacket for gentlemen with a tie optional, and smart attire for ladies, with jeans, sportswear and trainers all ruled out. That code applies to children as well as adults. Hospitality areas ask for a collared shirt for gentlemen and smart attire for ladies. Nowhere on the course is a hat compulsory, but the Premier Enclosure on Ladies Day is where you will see the most of them.

September on Town Moor

The second week of September is the turn of the season, and the palette should follow it. This is the point in the calendar where ivory and pearl read better than white, where navy is more useful than pale blue, and where deep rose and plum come into their own against the low autumn light. Sateen, tulle and fine veiling all suit the moment in a way they would look heavy in July. Doncaster is a galloping track with a long straight of about four and a half furlongs, which means a good deal of open ground and wind coming down it, so a piece that is properly secured matters more here than at a sheltered course.

Five Merve Bayindir pieces for the St Leger Festival

The five below are hand-made in our London atelier and drawn from our autumn/winter occasion line, chosen for a September meeting where sateen, pearl and veiling sit better than summer straw. Prices include UK VAT.

Cordelia Pillbox Hat

£1,450

A tall ivory pillbox built in two layers, each finished with a felt bow whose centre is set with a pearl ball. It is the most formal shape here and the most obviously historic, which suits a 250th anniversary. Wear it straight on the crown with ivory, camel or navy tailoring and let the height do the work.

Georgette Fascinator

£1,100

A sateen button fascinator covered in sparkled lace tulle, dressed with sateen roses and large pearl-coloured beads, with veil tulle falling at the back. The veil is what makes it: it reads as considered rather than decorative, and it photographs beautifully in low autumn light. Pair it with black, charcoal or deep plum.

Rosalee Fascinator

£1,150

A navy sateen button piece set with dark pink sateen roses and green leaves, finished with a navy veil. The navy and rose combination is exactly right for the second week of September, warm enough for the season and deep enough for the light. Wear it with navy, ivory or a soft grey coat.

Nicollete Fascinator

£1,150

A sateen button fascinator worn to the front right of the head, worked with crepe leaves and centred on large wired pearls. Restrained and sculptural at once, it is the quietest of the five and the easiest to wear with a printed dress or a strong coat.

Yvette Fascinator

£1,100

A small saucer in sateen, embellished with sparkled lace tulle and sateen roses. The scale is modest, which makes it a sensible choice for a long day that runs from the parade ring to the grandstand and back, and it holds well in the wind off the straight.

At a glance

Styling notes for Doncaster

Start with the enclosure. If you are in the Premier Enclosure or the Home Straight Restaurant, plan around a jacket and leave the jeans at home, and remember the code covers children too. For the Style Awards, judges are looking at the whole line rather than the largest hat in the room, so let the headpiece answer the outfit instead of competing with it. Because the straight is long and open, favour a piece on a wired headband or with an elastic fitting over one held by a comb. Early September can turn, so a coat you are happy to be photographed in is worth more than a wrap you will carry all afternoon. Button and saucer fascinators work well here, sitting comfortably in a busy grandstand and staying put in the wind.

Ordering, and what to expect

Our occasion pieces are made to order in the London atelier, part of a deliberate, low-waste way of working, so with the festival in the second week of September it is worth ordering with time in hand. When the date is close, our ready to ship pieces are dispatched within the next working day. Every order arrives in a custom box, with worldwide DHL Express shipping included.

Frequently asked questions

When is the St Leger Festival 2026?

The Betfred St Leger Festival runs from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September 2026 at Doncaster Racecourse, with the 250th St Leger Stakes on Saturday 12 September.

When is Leger Ladies Day 2026?

Ladies Day falls on Thursday 10 September 2026 and opens the festival, with the Style Awards alongside the May Hill Stakes and the Park Hill Stakes.

What is the dress code at Doncaster Racecourse?

It varies by enclosure. The Grandstand and Picnic enclosures have no formal code, the County Enclosure asks for smart attire, and the Premier Enclosure and Home Straight Restaurant require a jacket for gentlemen with a tie optional and smart attire for ladies. Jeans, sportswear and trainers are not permitted in the Premier Enclosure.

Do you have to wear a hat at the St Leger?

No, headwear is not compulsory in any enclosure. Most guests in the Premier Enclosure wear a hat or fascinator on Ladies Day, and anyone entering the Style Awards will almost certainly wear one.

Why is the St Leger called the St Leger?

The race is named after Lieutenant Colonel Anthony St Leger, who founded it as a sweepstake in 1776. It ran unnamed for two years until a dinner at the Red Lion Inn in Doncaster in 1778, where the Marquess of Rockingham proposed naming it after its founder.

Why is 2026 special?

It marks the 250th running of the St Leger Stakes, the oldest Classic race in the world and the final leg of the Triple Crown, first run in 1776.

Find your St Leger hat

Every piece above is designed and hand-made in our London atelier by Merve Bayindir, a member of the British Fashion Council with selections in the Royal Ascot Style Guide. Explore the full range of hats and fascinators, the race headwear worn across the season, or begin with our Winter Occasion Headwear for the shapes that suit a September meeting.

Sources

Betfred St Leger Festival, Doncaster Racecourse:  doncaster-racecourse.co.uk/racing-highlights/st-leger-festival

Betfred Ladies Day 2026, Doncaster Racecourse:  doncaster-racecourse.co.uk/whats-on/betfred-ladies-day-2026