Gemma Hassett and Mike Tippett Named Winners of Breeders' Cup "Fascinators & Fedoras" Fashion Event
LOS ANGELES (Nov. 7, 2012)- Beating out a field of 750 contestants, Irish-born Gemma Hassett and Chino Hills resident Mike Tippett were named winners of the second annual “Fascinators and Fedoras” Fashion Event, presented by Westfield Mall and Los Angeles Magazine, at the 29th Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Hassett, donning a fire orange Fiona Mangan fascinator, and Tippitt, sporting a cowboy-hat inspired fedora, both took home a $5,000 Westfield Mall gift card.
Entrants were able to participate in the fashion contest during the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park, Nov. 2 and 3. A panel of judges comprised of E! News correspondent Ashlan Gorse, Los Angeles Magazine fashion editor Linda Immediato and milliner Christine Moore selected the winners from a group of 18 finalists on Saturday afternoon.
“It was a really tough decision,” said judge and New York City-based designer Christine Moore. “We saw such a breadth of incredible headwear, but both Gemma and Mike had something that stood out amongst the rest.”
Launched at the 2011 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., the “Fascinators and Fedoras” contest crowns the lady with the best fascinator and the gentleman with the best fedora in attendance.
“I’m over the moon,” said Hassett, whose father is a horse trainer in Ireland and herself now a teaching student at California State University Long Beach (CSULB). “I knew the competition was on as I was looking at the Breeders Cup website and I said to myself, ‘What the heck? If I’m not in, I can’t win!’”
“My wife and I have recently become big fans of horse racing and I grew up near Los Alamitos Track,” said Tippett. “We usually pay close attention to our race day attire and now dress to coordinate our outfits. This year we also attended the Triple Crown races, keeping track of I’ll Have Another.”
About Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup administers the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s year-end Championships. The Breeders’ Cup also administers the Breeders’ Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2012 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, consisting of 15 races and purses totaling more than $25 million was held Nov. 2-3 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and televised live by NBC. The $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic was shown live and in primetime on NBC from 8-9 p.m. ET. Breeders’ Cup press releases appear on the Breeders’ Cup Web site, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders’ Cup on social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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