Today Friday start up with Racegoers Ladies Day in finest outfits as they arrive at Aintree

Racing fans dressed in their finest outfits as they arrived at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool.

The event is one of the most hotly anticipated of the racing fashion calendar and attracts huge number of Aintree bosses who introduced a 'Chanel-inspired' style code to smarten up standards Ladies Day.

The gathering turned raucous this afternoon after a day which saw champagne flowing from the moment the gates of the Merseyside racecourse opened.

Many revellers seemed to be feeling the effects of a day of drinking as the afternoon drew to a close with several seen swigging alcohol directly from the bottle.

There were several incidences of women puling up their friends' clothing to reveal their underwear and showing off a lot more than they bargained for when they set out for the day.

 One woman cheekily allowed her friend to pull up her skirt to reveal her black thong underneath, while another willingly flashed her lacy underwear.

Many played up for the cameras striking some rather outrageous poses, but others were too busy finishing off the last of the booze to notice. 

Yesterday's event was a much more tame affair, with few of the drunken scenes that have marred the gathering in previous years but things seemed a lot more boozy today from the word go.

One man was seen lying on the ground, appearing to have drunk too much even before the first race of the day had taken place. And an overenthusiastic partygoer was seen necking champagne straight from a full sized bottle around lunchtime.

Another woman was egged on by her friends as she sipped rose wine, again directly from the bottle. 

Luckily others made use of miniature champagne funnels introduced at last year's Cheltenham Festival to cut out the need for plastic glasses and discourage people sipping straight from the bottle. 

 For fashion fans today was the most exciting part of the three-day festival as racegoers turned out in their finest frocks in the hope of landing one of the coveted style awards on offer to the best dressed.

Early arrivals this morning showed off their style in their best frocks and fascinators, but unfortunately a few got it wrong, including one woman who matched her white fishnet tights to the sleeves of her dress.

However, plenty of others were the picture of elegance as they turned out in their most glamorous frocks for the Fabulous Friday Ladies Day at the Merseyside course.

Andy Murray's mother Judy swapped the tennis court for the track as she joined racing fans for a day of sporting action. The former Strictly contestant was dressed down and comfortable for the event in a pair of Hunter wellies and a mohair tartan coat.

The tennis coach was in attendance as part of the panel at the Grand Women's Summit held at the racecourse today. There were 125 delegates in attendance at the summit, which celebrated the diverse roles women in play in sport.

While Judy dressed down, others went for much more glamorous ensembles with skyscraper heels and plunging necklines the order of the day.

One woman braved the chilly afternoon in a daring red bralet under a white jacket. She flashed her tanned legs in a pair of matching white shorts, as she posed up a storm for the cameras.

During a rare break in the clouds, many revellers were seen celebrating with a drink as they soaked up the sun's brief appearance.

The focus may have been on the ladies at today's event, but Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas also drew attention when he turned up looked dapper in black jeans and a blazer.

The actor, who was married to Coronation Street star Kim Marsh, has recently made his return to the popular show as bad boy Warren Fox.

She teamed the jumpsuit with navy high pointed court shoes and an ivory Miss Selfridge jacket.

Also rocking high street threads was blonde 32-year-old Jessica, Nancy Hayton in the soap, who rocked a knee-length Wallis dress.

While Jessica kept things classy in a red and white dress, Kirsty offset masculine tailoring with a colourful crop top.

While the three-piece had raised the bar for the second day, a day dedicated to feminine glamour, they'd snuck in a fourth friend who was more suave than sassy.

Jamie teamed chinos with a blazer to accompany the women to the second day of Aintree after reuniting with them on the show.

He was spotted back on the Chester set for the first time in February and now appears in one of the television adverts.

He has previously quit the show twice, once in 2009 when he was killed off and a second time in 2011 when producers asked him back as a surprise.

Coronation Street and Emmerdale alum Kirsty is the most recent addition to the cast, since she joined in 2013.

The Hollyoaks party were seen enjoying some of the races later in the day with Stephanie Waring looking particularly enthusiastic as she cheered the riders on to victory, perhaps having backed a winner. 

Many of today's attendees may have even more to celebrate later in the day, as there's £51,00 worth of prizes on offer for those who turn out in sophisticated style today.

The prizes are part of a drive by Aintree management to up the sartorial stakes, which was announced earlier this year.

Yesterday saw revellers turn out in a range of skimpy outfits from thigh skimming skirts to clinging cut out jumpsuits.

However, Aintree bosses were hoping there would be a more toned down approach today as race goers competed for a chance at winning the Fabulous Friday style award.

Prizes include a £43,000 Range Rover as well as £8,000 worth of fashion vouchers, and organisers hope the incentive will encourage better dressing at the event, which has become somewhat notorious for its skimpy outfits.

Announcing the prizes earlier this years, John Baker, the northwest regional director for the Jockey Club, which owns Aintree said he hoped the financial incentive would help give the event a facelift.

However, he insisted the move was more of a refresh for the event as opposed to a major makeover.

He told The Times: 'We felt we had to refresh Ladies' Day.This year we will have a style code rather than a dress code.

We are trying to move it ­forward and make it a little bit more ­inspirational than it had become.'

Baker was quick to add he doesn't want the award to restrict the women's creativity as he is looking for a certain extent of self expression to Ladies' Day.

Baker also insisted that he was not telling people 'what to wear'.

'We love the fact that people come and are able to express themselves in the way that they dress. It is what is going on in the fashion world,' he added.

Judges of the contest will be based around Aintree during the event so as to spot the sartorially savvy.

The 2015 event was the first year that organisers implemented a 'Style Code' for Ladies' Day.

Last year stylist Gok Wan presented a Mini Cooper to last year's winner following a change in approach to the dress code.

It was inspired by the Coco Chanel quote: 'Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.

The ambassadors for this year's competition include Katie Walsh, the Grand National's most successful female jockey and face of Ladies Day 2015.

'Ladies Day is of course a very special day for me, it’s wonderful to see so many women getting involved in the racing and demonstrating how glamorous it can be,' Katie said.

I admire the effort that goes into all the outfits and the ladies of Liverpool have such a great confidence, which is fantastic to see and be a part of. It’s a very unique event which everyone should be proud of.'

Former amateur flat jockey and Channel 4 racing presenter Emma Spencer is also an ambassador and will be leading various style discussions in the run-up to the event.

John Baker, Managing Director of Aintree Racecourse, added: 'Ladies Day at The Crabbie’s Grand National is always one of the most stylish and fabulous days in the racing calendar and we intend to continue encouraging this fantastic array of fashionistas into 2017’s Festival and beyond.

'We have been thrilled this year to work with our style ambassadors and always really enjoy seeing how men and women, both locally and all around the UK, celebrate their own incredible styles and enjoy this unique and thrilling three-day Festival.

'We look forward to seeing who picks up the biggest ever style award prize.

Judges who will be wandering the event looking for the best-dressed guests include: Alex Longmore, the Crabbie's Grand National Official Style Ambassador; Classical singer Laura Wright; hairstylist Andrew Collinge; and Faye Mines, part of the John Lewis team in Liverpool ONE.

Alex Longmore, who has appeared on Britain's Next Top Model and dresses A-List celebrities,said ahead of the race meeting: 'It's always such a fabulous fashion event and I hope this year's Crabbie's Grand National will be as bright as ever with some seriously chic outfits on show.

Today she added: 'This is my first Ladies Day at the Crabbie’s Grand National and I have enjoyed every minute. It has been a pleasure to judge the style award as it has allowed me to see a huge range of beautifully dressed, stylish ladies embracing their own individual style.

'Fashion should be fun and not something that is dictated to women. Today is a celebration of individuality and an event that both as a stylist and an ambassador I am thrilled to be a part of.

Bookmakers Star Sports are offering betting on where the winner of the Best Dressed Lady competition at Ladies Day will be from. Merseyside is the favourite, but an Irish winner is second favourite in the betting.

Betting was also taking place on what colour WAG Coleen Rooney would wear if she attended the second day of the festival.

She joined racegoers yesterday with a huge gaggle of family and friends, as she continued to celebrations for her 30th birthday alongside mum Colette McLoughlin and husband Wayne's mother Jeanette Rooney.

Yesterday, Coleen opted for a bright orange lace dress to offset her tan, picked up on a recent jaunt to Barbados, but today she was tipped to look pretty in pink.

Bookies Ladbrokes were taking bets on the queen of Aintree's dress colour for the big day and make a pink number the 3/1 favourite, from purple at 4/1 and black at 5/1, with Manchester United colours an outsider at 100/1.

However, the mother-of-three wasn't in attendance and was spotted nipping into shops and filling up her £120,000 Overfinch Range Rover in Cheshire on Friday afternoon.

Ladbrokes have confirmed they will reimburse punters for all bets placed on Coleen's outfit after she failed to show.

Yesterday's event saw some racegoers step out in thigh skimming skirts, with tight cut out jumpsuits proving particularly popular.

Revellers braved high winds and downpours in a variety of skimpy outfits, and many women were seen holding on to their hats and fascinators and desperately trying to stop their skirts being blown up by a gust of wind.

Unfortunately today's forecast promises more of the same weather. It's set to be a chilly 11°C and more rain is forecast with only short outbreaks of sunshine predicted. 

However, the bad weather did not dampen spirits as partygoers soaked up the atmosphere. At the end of the day several turned the Pavillion wine bar into a makeshift dance floor.

Tens of thousands of racegoers attend Aintree each year and the Grand National is seen as the world's most famous horse race, generating TV viewing figures in the hundreds of millions from across the globe.

The Bookmakers are expecting a record-breaking £200 million betting extravaganza on the iconic race this weekend.

Forty horses will take to the track on Saturday, all hoping of making it the whole way round and win the gruelling race.

More than 150,000 spectators are set to head to the famous racecourse during the three day festival with up to £200million due to be wagered on the outcome of the 169th running of the race.