Best Dressed competitions at Irish race meetings, such as those held during the Galway Races and the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show, have grown into a lucrative pursuit, offering cash prizes of up to €10,000 alongside luxury travel packages. While marketed as celebrations of style and individuality, the events have become fiercely competitive, with a dedicated group of women travelling long distances to enter multiple meetings each year, often motivated as much by financial reward as by prestige.

Winners can gain substantial prizes, from spending money and hotel stays to flights and even cars, as well as a boost to their public profile and social media following. Faith Amond, 72, from Carlow is Ireland's most successful Best Dressed competitor, having won more than 50 events over four decades, including a Range Rover Evoque at Aintree in 2017. Recent winners include Jeanette Kelly, who triumphed at the Dubai Duty Free Best Dressed at the Irish Derby with a look including a Malva Flores cape, winning a trip to Dubai and €1,000 spending money, and Róisín Logan, a palliative care nurse who won at Gowran Races.