Hats out - it's ladies day in Cheltenham

It was Barry Geraghty’s day at Cheltenham today when he won three races in a row and came in second in the last race of the day. “You dream of days like this,” he said. “And when they come thick and fast like that you don’t even get a chance to give it much thought.”

Mullingar woman Margaret Connolly (23) was also in shock when she won the top prize in the Ladies Day competition in a field of 392 entrants. The Heaton's sales assistant bought her 1950's style Lilli Ann dress and coat online for €220, paid €12 for the hat and €15 for the shoes.

The same outfit won her the Hennessy Best Dressed Lady competition a few weeks ago.

But it was another poor day for Irish-trained horses. Punters had to wait for the last race of the day to watch an Irish trainer go to the winners' podium. The Willie Mullins-trained Champagne Fever saved the day when the trainer's son Patrick rode him to victory in the Weatherbys' Champion Bumper.

Earlier yesterday at Cheltenham, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said he believed the government could raise about €20 million in tax from online and remote betting in a year, when new legislation is brought in. While bets placed in bookie shops are subject to a one per cent tax paid by the bookmakers, online betting is not.

He said he hoped to have the legislation in place by the summer. "So if we are going to keep to that time frame, then we need to actually see the legislation published within weeks rather than months."

"We anticipate that in a full year we could gain a revenue stream, from one per cent of turnover of about €20 million a year." The Government raised about €27 million tax from betting shops last year "so you are talking about a very significant percentage of betting happening online".

Paddy Power of Paddy Power bookmakers said the devil would be in the detail of the proposed legislation. "We're not against paying tax at all. We just want to make sure that it's properly policed. Nowhere in the world have they nailed it so maybe this will be the first time."