'Horses Are Optional' for the Fashion-Forward at the Hunt Cup

The Hunt Cup has been a time-honored Maryland tradition for 115 years, but many patrons used the occasion to show off their spring fashion chops.

Will Keyser, 29, a student from Baltimore City, looked dapper in a tweed jacket, red bow tie and Ray Ban sunglasses. After having attended the Hunt Cup for the past 15 years, Keyser has a keen sense for the latest racecourse styles.

“Depends slightly on the age group,” he said. “But country traditional is making a comeback—tweed, khakis, bow ties.”

And what you wear at Hunt Cup is no joke.

“It’s important,” Keyser said. “It keeps the integrity of the races.”

Hannah McMillan, 24, shares Keyser’s sentiments.

“I can’t imagine being at a horse race and not dressing up,” McMillan said, a first-time Hunt Cup patron.

But McMillan, a Nashville, TN resident who wore a formal pale yellow gown with white pumps, thinks Marylanders can step it up on the fashion front.

“I’m from Tennessee and if you don’t wear a sun hat, you don’t belong,” she said. “It’s a little more casual here.”

Some might even suggest that the fashions outshine the races.

“These races—it’s an excuse to dress up,” said Chris Soper, 22, a Towson resident who sported a pink bow tie and a baby-blue sports jacket.

Soper attended the race with Katelynn Dougherty, a nurse from Baltimore City. She channeled the spring spirit in a bright yellow sundress and white cardigan.

Dougherty agrees that the outfits are the real attraction at the Hunt Cup.

“It’s springtime. It’s all about the bright colors, new spring styles,” she said. “The horses are optional.”